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Cortical osteoclasts are less sensitive to etidronate than trabecular osteoclasts
Author(s) -
Chappard Daniel,
Petitjean Muriel,
Alexandre Christian,
Vico Laurence,
Minaire Pierre,
Riffat Georges
Publication year - 1991
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.5650060704
Subject(s) - cortical bone , osteoclast , bone resorption , osteoporosis , bed rest , chemistry , trabecular bone , resorption , rest (music) , medicine , endocrinology , etidronic acid , anatomy , receptor
Acute osteoporosis after spinal cord injury is related to an early increase in osteoclastic resorption. Healthy subjects subjected to bed rest similarly increase their osteoclast number in trabecular bone. Bisphosphonates possess a highly antiosteoclastic activity. The effects of a 120 day bed rest period, with or without etidronate therapy on cortical bone were measured in 15 subjects. Cortical thickness and cortical porosity were measured on transiliac bone biopsies taken before and after the bed rest period. Osteoclasts were detected histo‐chemically and were counted with a semiautomatic image analyzer. Cortical thickness, cortical porosity, and cortical osteoclast number were not significantly modified in subjects submitted to bed rest alone. In the etidronate‐treated patients, cortical bone mass parameters were also found to be unaffected, but the most striking feature was that the osteoclast number was unchanged. Trabecular osteoclasts, on the contrary, were increased in the untreated subjects (+95.2%) but decreased in the treated subjects (‐78%). Bone cells may have heterogeneous responses according to their trabecular or cortical location. Cortical osteoclasts seem to be unaffected by etidronate therapy.