OBJECTIVE To examine variables associated with bone mineral density (BMD) and vertebral deformities in women with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) from 3 northwest European countries. METHODS Female patients were recruited from rheumatology clinics in Oslo, Norway; Truro, UK; and Amsterdam, The Netherlands (150 total, 50 per center, age 50-70 years, disease duration > or = 5 years). Demographic and ...

INTRODUCTION Osteoporotic vertebral fractures relate to poorer quality of life and higher long-term mortality. In a resource-poor setup, conservative management assumes great importance as primary means of treatment. We assess the clinico-pathological epidemiology of osteoporotic vertebral fractures and prospectively evaluate the effectiveness of conservative management in their treatment. MATE...

BACKGROUND Vertebral augmentation has been widely used to treat vertebral body compression fractures caused by varied pathologies. The lifetime risk of a vertebral body compression fracture is 16% for women and 5% for men, and exponential increase of osteoporotic fractures worldwide. PURPOSE To determine the efficacy and durability of percutaneous vertebroplasty for the treatment of back pain...

Vertebral fracture, the hallmark of osteoporosis, usually occurs in postmenopausal women with low bone mineral density (BMD). The aim this study was to determine which BMD parameter can best predict women at high risk of fracture. BMD values at the spine and femoral neck were compared in 34 women with vertebral fracture and 34 controls. Mean BMD (g/cm2), T-score, and Z-score values at both femo...

OBJECTIVE To examine the prevalence of and risk factors for low bone mineral density (BMD) and vertebral fractures in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). METHODS We studied 107 SLE patients. Demographic and clinical data were collected, and radiographs of the thoracic and lumbar spine and BMD measurements by dual x-ray absorptiometry were performed. Vertebral deformities were sc...

Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) is accompanied by myocytes and connective tissue changes. Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) play important roles in cardiac remodeling. It seems that the gelatinases (MMP-2 and MMP-9) are effective enzymes in cardiomyopathy. Dilated cardiomyopathy was confirmed in 22 dogs (patient group) including 11 female and 11 male by clinical examination, auscultation, thoracic ...

PURPOSE To use high-spatial-resolution magnetic resonance (MR) imaging to analyze the trabecular bone structure of the calcaneus in patients before and after heart transplantation and to compare this technique with bone mineral density (BMD) measurement in predicting therapy-induced bone loss and vertebral fracture status. MATERIALS AND METHODS High-spatial-resolution 1.5-T MR imaging of the ...

CONTEXT AND OBJECTIVES Controversy exists regarding the relationship between atherosclerosis and osteoporosis. The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between intima-media thickness (IMT) of the common carotid artery (CCA), presence of calcified atherosclerotic plaques and bone mineral density (BMD) evaluated by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA), in postmenopausal women. ...

Objective: This study was aimed to explore clinical effects of high viscosity bone cement in the treatment of osteoporotic vertebral compression fracture. Methods: A total of 90 patients with osteoporotic vertebral compression fracture were selected from our hospital as the study objects and were randomly divided to control group and observation group with 45 cases in each. All patients underwe...

BACKGROUND Glucocorticoid (GC) therapy is associated with an increased risk of fractures. The main objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of undiagnosed vertebral fractures in women chronically using GC therapy for autoimmune disorders. We also determined the prevalence of non-vertebral fractures, and investigated whether factors such as quality-of-life and future fracture risk...