A postmortem Correlation of four techniques of assessment of osteoporosis with force of bone compression

Abstract

Prosected vertebrae and phalanges from 32 cadavera were examined using noninvasive methods commonly used for assessment of osteoporosis. Bone measures were then compared with a strength variable obtained by mechanically crushing or breaking the bones. All of the phalangeal density assessment techniques were found to be significantly correlated with the bone strength. The highest correlations were between bone mineral content and strength. In vertebral samples (cubes with 2 cm sides), bone mineral content corrected for bone width (BMC/BW) was significantly correlated with the force at the first deviation from linearity. Correlations between the computed tomography number and bone strength were negligible. Bone strength of the vertebrae was significantly correlated to that of the fingers. Photon absorptometric (SPA) measurements of the vertebrae correlated significantly with corresponding measures of the phalanges. BMC/BW appeared as the first or second variable selected as a predictor of bone strength in the multiple regression analysis. Throughout this entire study, BMC or BMC/BW were the only variables that were consistently related to the strength variables.

Bone mineral measurements at the knee using dual photon and dual energy X-ray absorptiometry: Methodological evaluation and clinical studies focusing on adaptive bone remodeling following lower extremity fracture, total knee arthroplasty, and partial versus total meniscectomy

“…The relations between bone strength and BMD found in our study were comparable with other studies evaluating the relations in larger and more well defined parts of the skeleton such as the femoral neck (Dalén et al 1976;Courtney et al 1994) and lumbar vertebrae (Hansson et al 1980;Oyster and Smith 1988). Thus the use of small ROI within the proximal part of the tibia did not seem to influence the degree of correlation between bone strength and BMD.…”

Ex Vivo and In Vivo Assessment of Vertebral Strength and Vertebral Fracture Risk Assessed by Dual Energy X-Ray Absorptiometry

“…The heterogeneity of surrounding tissues is nevertheless considerably less than that of tissue surrounding axial sites such as the spine. Although true in vivo estimates of accuracy have not been made, errors in cadaveric studies of excised bone have sufficiently low to make the technique attractive for screening [14].…”