Cervical Vertebral Trabecular Bone Mineral Density in Great Danes With and Without Osseous‐Associated Cervical Spondylomyelopathy

Abstract

Background: Great Danes (GDs) with osseous-associated cervical spondylomyelopathy (CSM) have osteoarthritis (OA) of the cervical vertebrae. OA is often associated with increases in bone mineral density (BMD) in people and dogs.Hypothesis/Objectives: To compare the trabecular BMD of the cervical vertebrae between clinically normal (control) GDs and GDs with osseous-associated CSM by using computed tomography (CT). We hypothesized that the vertebral trabecular BMD of CSM-affected GDs would be higher than that of control GDs.Animals: Client-owned GDs: 12 controls, 10 CSM affected. Methods: Prospective study. CT of the cervical vertebral column was obtained alongside a calibration phantom. By placing a circular region of interest at the articular process joints, vertebral body, pedicles, and within each rod of the calibration phantom, trabecular BMD was measured in Hounsfield units, which were converted to diphosphate equivalent densities. Trabecular BMD measurements were compared between CSM-affected and control dogs, and between males and females within the control group.Results: Differences between CSM-affected and control dogs were not significant for the articular processes (mean = À39; P = .37; 95% CI: À102 to 24), vertebral bodies (mean = À62; P = .08; 95% CI: À129 to 6), or pedicles (mean = À36; P = .51; 95% CI: À105 to 33). Differences between female and male were not significant.Conclusions and Clinical Importance: This study revealed no difference in BMD between control and CSM-affected GDs. Based on our findings no association was detected between cervical OA and BMD in GDs with CSM.

Computed Tomography Osteodensitometry for Assessment of Bone Mineral Density of the Canine Head—Preliminary Results

“…It is accepted that CT supersedes DEXA scans in veterinary patients when extreme variety of patient sizes and soft tissue dimensions render DEXA values inaccurate [ 45 ]. Veterinary publications that address qCT BMD are limited by small case numbers, use of cadavers, or use of a research population [ 14 , 40 , 46 , 47 , 48 , 49 ]. Our study contains a large population of clinical dogs and highlights that BMD can be assessed almost seamlessly in dogs undergoing CT for other clinical indications.…”

Quantitative computed tomographic evaluation of bone mineral density in beagle dogs: comparison with dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry as a gold standard

“…Furthermore, conventional radiography is subjective and affected by technical factors [ 27 ]. In recent years, several studies have been conducted on BMD measurement in dogs [ 2 , 19 ]. As in human medicine, several endocrine diseases are associated with decreased BMD in dogs and bone loss is most easily detected in the vertebrae [ 7 ].…”

“…However, in veterinary medicine, DXA is used less often than QCT for this purpose because veterinary DXA machines are not commercially available and scanning can be performed only under general anesthesia. QCT has been used more frequently in veterinary medicine because it has the advantages of providing anatomical information and measuring trabecular and cortical BMD separately [ 2 , 3 ]. Measurement of BMD is critical for identifying factors that affect bone mineral content, but research in this regard remains rare in veterinary medicine.…”

Comparative investigation of bone mineral density using CT and DEXA in a canine femoral model

“…Although there are studies measuring bone density in dogs using DEXA, lack of its availability and trained personnel remain huge challenges for its applicability in veterinary medicine. Therefore, several veterinary studies have focused on the use of CT for assessing bone density in a wide variety of canine bones such as vertebrae, femoral head, radius and ulna, knee, mandibula and maxilla, and tarsus . Although the obtained CT image also depends on the absorption of X‐radiation, in contrast to DEXA a 3D replication of the scanned object is produced using a standardized linear attenuation coefficient scale, where air is defined as −1,000 and water as 0, expressed in HU.…”

“…Measuring bone density with computed tomography instead of using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) has become a focus of interest in the last few years in human and veterinary medicine. [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13] However, according to the World Health Organization, the gold standard for quantitative measurements of bone density is dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA). 14,15 Both modalities (DEXA and CT) are based on X-radiation.…”