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Cancellous bone remodeling in type i (postmenopausal) osteoporosis: Quantitative assessment of rates of formation, resorption, and bone loss at tissue and cellular levels
Author(s) -
Eriksen Erik F.,
Hodgson Stephen F.,
Eastell Richard,
RIGGS B. Lawrence,
Cedel Sandra L.,
O'Fallon W. Michael
Publication year - 1990
Publication title -
journal of bone and mineral research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.882
H-Index - 241
eISSN - 1523-4681
pISSN - 0884-0431
DOI - 10.1002/jbmr.5650050402
Subject(s) - cancellous bone , osteoporosis , resorption , bone resorption , bone remodeling , endocrinology , medicine , osteoblast , bone formation , chemistry , anatomy , in vitro , biochemistry
The cellular mechanisms for bone loss in type I (postmenopausal) osteoporosis are highly controversial. We attempted to resolve this by assessing rates of formation and resorption of iliac cancellous bone by a new histomorphometric method in 89 women with osteoporosis (mean age + SD, 66 + 6 years) and in 32 carefully selected normal postmenopausal women (64 + 6 years). In the osteoporotic women, bone resorption rate was increased by 39% ( P <0.05) at the cellular level and by 67% ( P <0.05) at the tissue level, whereas bone formation was unchanged at the tissue level but decreased by 14% ( P <0.01) at the cellular (osteoblast) level. This pronounced remodeling imbalance ( P <0.001) was probably exacerbated by a 45% increase ( P < 0.1) in activation frequency of new remodeling foci. These abnormalities were associated with a high rate of cancellous bone loss (median, 5.8%/year versus 0.1%/year in controls). Thus, accelerated loss of cancellous bone in type I osteoporosis results from the combination of increased bone resorption and inadequate compensation by bone formation.