Acromegaly is associated with vertebral deformations but not vertebral fractures: Results of a cross-sectional monocentric study

Vertebral Fractures Associated with Spinal Sagittal Imbalance and Quality of Life in Acromegaly: A Radiographic Study with EOS 2D/3D Technology

“…Interestingly, in this study, we described an association between moderate/severe subchondral degeneration and VFs. One could argue that this association may reflect a misdiagnosis of VFs in patients with spine arthropathy [19, 50], especially in males in whom the shape of thoracic vertebral bodies tends to be wedged and in a clinical context as acromegaly in which the vertebral bodies are deformed by severe osteophytosis and the measurement of BMD does not allow to identify patients with skeletal fragility [13, 51, 52]. Indeed, about 50% of our patients with either moderate/severe or multiple VFs had healthy BMD values.…”

“…VFs were reported in about one-third of patients with acromegaly in close relationship with duration of exposure to growth hormone (GH) hypersecretion, untreated hypogonadism, treated hypoadrenalism, and pre-existing VFs [16]. Noteworthy, VFs were found to develop even in patients with normal BMD [13, 17], making uncertain the diagnostic and therapeutic management of skeletal fragility in this clinical setting [18, 19]. Moreover, the clinical impact of VFs in acromegaly is unknown [20, 21], and it is still uncertain whether a relationship may exist between arthropathy and skeletal fragility in this clinical setting [22].…”