Bone mineral density T-scores comparison between obese and non-obese individuals included in a Fracture Liaison Service following a recent fragility fracture.

We used data from a Fracture Liaison Service to compare the mean T-scores of obese and non-obese patients after a recent fragility fracture. After adjusting for age, sex, and diabetes mellitus, T-score values were significantly higher at all measurement sites in obese patients, with a mean difference of 1 SD. PURPOSE: This study aimed to compare the mean T-scores of obese and non-obese patients after recent fragility fractures. METHODS: Over a period of 5 and a half years, from January 2016 to May 2021, patients from a fracture liaison service were identified and their demographic characteristics, osteoporosis risk factors, BMD T-scores, and fracture sites were compared between obese (BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2) and non-obese (19 kg/m2 < BMI < 30 kg/m2) patients. RESULTS: A total of 712 patients were included (80.1% women; mean age 73.8 ± 11.3 years). Sixteen % had type 2 diabetes mellitus and 80% had a major osteoporotic fracture (MOF). 135 patients were obese and 577 non-obese, with obese patients younger (p < 0.001) and more frequently female (p = 0.03). Obese patients presented with fewer hip fractures (10% vs. 21%, p = 0.003) and more proximal humerus fractures (16% vs. 7%, p < 0.001) than non-obese patients. After adjusting for age, sex, and diabetes mellitus, BMD T-score values were significantly higher at all measurement sites (lumbar spine, total hip, and femoral neck) in obese patients than in non-obese patients for all types of fractures, with a mean difference of 1 standard deviation (p < 0.001 for all comparisons). The same results were observed in the population limited to MOF. CONCLUSIONS: Given the crucial role of BMD T-score in determining the need for anti-osteoporotic medication following fragility fractures, it is reasonable to question the existing T-score thresholds in obese patients.

Gel electrophoresis of human sperm: a simple method for evaluating sperm protein quality.

BACKGROUND: The limitations of conventional sperm analyses have highlighted the need for additional means of evaluating sperm quality. METHODS: In a study of a cohort of 245 men with known conventional sperm parameters, one-dimensional PAGE was used to monitor protein content and quality in samples from individual ejaculates. RESULTS: The sperm protein content varied markedly from sample to another, especially in the high-molecular-weight range. The intensity of the 80-110 kDa bands was correlated with progressive motility (r = 0.15, p = 0.015) and was significantly higher (p = 0.0367) in the group of men with conventional parameters above the World Health Organization's 2010 reference values than in the group with at least one subnormal parameter (i.e. semen volume, sperm concentration, sperm count per ejaculate, progressive motility, proportion of normal forms or multiple anomaly index below the lower reference value). Using mass spectrometry, the 80-110 kDa bands were found to correspond primarily to three proteins from the flagellum's fibrous sheath: A-kinase anchor protein 4, A-kinase anchor protein 3, and spermatogenic cell-specific type 1 hexokinase. CONCLUSION: One-dimensional PAGE constitutes a simple, rapid, reliable, inexpensive method for analyzing proteins associated with sperm motility in individual human ejaculates.

CONTEXTE: Les limites des analyses conventionnelles du sperme ont mis en évidence la nécessité de moyens supplémentaires d'évaluation de la qualité du sperme. MATÉRIEL ET MÉTHODES: La méthode d'électrophorèse unidimensionnelle a été utilisée pour évaluer la teneur et la qualité protéique dans des échantillons d'éjaculats individuels de 245 hommes avec des paramètres spermatiques connus. RÉSULTATS: La teneur en protéines du sperme variait d'un échantillon à l'autre, en particulier dans la gamme des poids moléculaires élevés. L'intensité des bandes de 80­110 kDa était corrélée à la mobilité progressive (r = 0,15, p = 0,015) et était significativement plus élevée (p = 0,0367) dans le groupe des hommes avec des paramètres conventionnels spermatiques supérieurs aux valeurs de référence (OMS, 2010) comparé au groupe d'hommes dont l'éjaculat présentait au moins un paramètre spermatique (volume de sperme, concentration de spermatozoïdes, numération des spermatozoïdes, motilité progressive, formes normales et indice d'anomalies multiples) en deça de la valeur de référence. Les bandes dans la gamme de 80­110 kDa ont été identifiées en spectrométrie de masse et se sont révélées être des protéines de la gaine fibreuse du flagelle: la protéine d'ancrage A-kinase 4, la protéine d'ancrage A-kinase 3 et l'hexokinase de type 1. CONCLUSION: La méthode d'électrophorèse unidimensionnelle constitue une méthode simple, rapide, fiable et peu coûteuse pour analyser la qualité des protéines du sperme dans les éjaculats humains individuels.