Effects of combined treatment with etidronate, nandrolone-decanoate and calcium on bone mineral density in postmenopausal women.

The objective of this retrospective study was to see whether the effect on bone mineral density (BMD) and response to the intermittent cyclic treatment with etidronate (E) + nandrolone-decanoate (ND + calcium (Ca) (group A--combined regimen--400 mg E daily for 2 weeks, followed by 500 mg Ca daily for the next 10 weeks + 50 mg ND once a month i.m., for 3 months in every other E cycle) was of greater benefit than cyclic E + Ca treatment (group B--standard regimen--E + Ca given in the same manner as in group A) or Ca treatment alone (group C--calcium regimen--500 mg Ca daily, continuously for 1 year). Group A comprised 30, group B 27 and group C 26 postmenopausal women with spinal BMD > or = 1 standard deviation below young adult mean (T score < or = -1) without vertebral fractures. BMD was measured by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry in the lumbar spine and femoral neck before (baseline values) and after one year treatment period. A similar, statistically significant increase in BMD was noted at lumbar spine in groups A and B (3.6% and 3.8%, respectively) and at femoral neck in groups A and B (1.7% and 2.5%, respectively). In group C, the bone loss at lumbar spine was prevented but no significant increase was recorded (0.3%) and at femoral neck an insignificant decrease in BMD was recorded (-0.3%). Percentages of change from baseline were significantly higher in groups A and B in respect to those in group C but there were no significant differences between groups A and B either at lumbar spine or at femoral neck. In about 30% of women from groups A and B, spinal BMD increased by more than 4.2% ("real" responders to the given therapy). A femoral BMD increase of more than 5.6% was recorded in about 13% of women from groups A and B. In group C, no such increase was recorded. In conclusion, combined intermittent cyclical regimen of E + ND + Ca has not proven to be superior to the intermittent cyclic regimen of E + Ca.

Radiologically defined osteoarthrosis in the finger joints of adult residents of Zagreb.

Degenerative changes in the finger joints were studied in 550 Zagreb inhabitants, above the age of 45. The sample was selected by the method of unproportional stratified choice according to age and sex. Radiographs of both hands were taken and osteoarthrosis on the proximal and distal interphalangeal joints was graded according to the five-point Kellgren-Lawrence scale. Body weight, height and arterial blood pressure were measured and occupational work load was evaluated. The prevalence of osteoarthrosis in the finger joints was significantly higher in women (40.9%) than in men (24.8%). It increased with age so that 18.7% of men and 15.0% of women aged 45-54 had finger osteoarthrosis compared to 36.3% of men and 68.2% of women aged 75 and older. Distal interphalangeal joints were more often involved (22.8% of men and 37.9% of women) than the proximal ones (9.7% of men and 19.6% of women). The factors most closely associated with osteoarthrosis were age and body weight. Occupational work load, as classified in this study, was not significantly related to the development of osteoarthrosis, except in the group of housewives, in whom the prevalence of finger arthrosis was greater than in the other groups of women.

[The effect of menopause and age on bone mineral density in women living in an urban environment in northern Croatia]. / Utjecaj menopauze i dobi na mineralnu gustocu kosti zena urbane sredine u sjevernoj Hrvatskoj.

The results of measurement of bone mass in three areas (lumbar spine, femoral neck and radius) where osteoporotic fractures most commonly occur are presented. The sample of 103 women was divided into three groups: premenopausal, early menopausal (up to 5 years of menopause) and late menopausal (more than 5 years of menopause). Both menopausal groups were additionally divided in two subgroups regarding the previous fractures. A statistically significant difference (p < 0.01) was found between bone mineral density (lumbar spine, femoral neck) and bone mineral content (radius) among all the groups. No difference was established for bone mass between postmenopausal women with and without fractures (> 0.05) by using the Kruskal-Wallis analysis of variance. A significant negative correlation (p < 0.01) was found between bone mass in all three tested regions on one side vs age of women as well as the period of menopause on the other. These results indicate that bone mass is significantly decreased in postmenopausal women. Therefore, the authors recommend densitometry to be employed in all postmenopausal women.

Dietary calcium and blood lead levels in women.

Nutritional factors are known to influence metabolism and toxicity of several metals in animal experiments, but relevant human data are scarce and inconclusive. In this work, we tested the hypothesis that dietary calcium influences lead metabolism in humans. Blood lead concentrations were used as indicators of lead exposure and metabolism. Two groups of peasant women living in similar conditions in two different regions in Yugoslavia (100 in each) were chosen as subjects for this purpose. In region A, the dietary calcium intake was about 940 mg, and in region B about two times lower, i.e., 450 mg/day. The average blood lead concentration was significantly lower in women from region A (69 micrograms/L) than from region B (83 micrograms/L). Our results support the assumption that adequate calcium intake might be one of the preventive measures for decreasing lead absorption. This new evidence, sought for some time by nutritionists and toxicologists, needs further international confirmation.

Crystal growth of calcium oxalate in urine of stone-formers and normal controls.

In this study, the relative crystal growth rate (Vcr) of calcium oxalate (Caox) and a number of other parameters were determined in 17-h daily (d) and 7-h nocturnal fractions (n) of whole urine from 20 recurrent Caox stone formers (SF) and 29 age-matched male normal controls (NC). Vcr, which was determined by the gel crystallization method (GCM), showed the largest difference between SF and NC among all parameters under investigation. Mean values (+/- SD) obtained for Vcr were: 0.73 +/- 0.58 (SF-d)/0.21 +/- 0.22 (NC-d; P less than 0.001) and 0.63+/- 0.58 (SF-n)/0.24 +/- 0.25 (NC-n; P less than 0.01). Significantly higher concentrations of Ca and lower concentrations of thermodynamic and kinetic effectors of Caox crystal growth were responsible for the higher crystal growth rates observed in SF as compared with NC, i.e., they should be partially causative in Caox urolithiasis. However, other properties of urine or the urinary tract (potentially, crystal agglomeration and adhesion) must be accounted for in the genesis of Caox stones.

Influence of sex and dietary calcium on intestinal cadmium absorption in rats.

The influence of sex and dietary calcium on whole-body retention of orally administered 115mCdCl2 has a half-life of 43 days, distinguishing it from 115Cd of half-life 2.3 days was studied in one-year-old control and gonadectomized male and female rats. Gonadectomy was performed at the age of four months. Each of the four experimental groups was divided into three subgroups that were fed rat food with a different calcium content (2.4, 0.7, and 0.3% Ca) throughout the experiment. Regardless of sex and gonadectomy the mean percent values of 115mCd retention in the whole body decreased with increasing dietary calcium level. Male rats retained less cadmium than all other experimental groups of animals. These data clearly point out that sex and diet might influence the level of ingested cadmium in the body.

Bone marrow in male and female rats.

Sex differences of high significance in the marrow weight relative to femur volume, as well as to body weight, were found in adult rats. A positive significant correlation was found between the femur volume and the marrow volume in both sexes, while a negative significant correlation between femur density and the marrow content (mg/mm3) exists only in male rats.

Determination of oxytetracycline induced fluorescence and autofluorescence as an indicator of age and sex differences in rat femur.

Simple and rapid methods for the determination and detection of autofluorescence and oxytetracycline (OTC) induced fluorescence in powdered and intact bone (without previous chemical extraction of the antibiotic) were used to estimate age and sex related differences in the rat femur. The autofluorescence always had collagen characteristics; it increased with age and was not sex dependent. The intensity of OTC induced fluorescence decreased with age, being higher in males than in females. In the oldest animals, however a slight increase in the fluorescence intensity was observed, and sex differences disappeared. The spectrofluorometric measurements of intact femora indicate a higher OTC retention on the bone surface of young animals and adult males but not in adult females. The results indicate that the determination of OTC retention in the bone using our quantitative fluorometric method and the detection of OTC deposition at bone surface using a spectrofluorometric technique can be a sensitive and inexpensive tool for experimental studies of bone changes in physiological and pathological conditions.

Tetracyclines and lead metabolism in rats.

The effects of oral, parenteral pretreatment, and posttreatment with tetracyclines on lead metabolism were studied in 7 to 9 week-old female rats. In animals receiving different doses of tetracyclines orally (30 to 600 mg/kg daily) for 12 days the retention of an oral dose of 203Pb applied on the 4th day of the treatment was, at the end of the experiment, the same as in the controls. In animals receiving daily intraperitoneal doses of tetracycline (18.8 to 75 mg/kg for 12 days) the retention of an intraperitoneal dose of 203Pb applied on the 4th day of treatment was, at the end of the experiment, the same or higher than in the untreated group. This indicates that tetracyclines are not likely to be useful in the prevention or treatment of lead poisoning.