An update on clinical presentation and responses to therapy of patients with hereditary hypophosphatemic rickets with hypercalciuria (HHRH).

Pathogenic variants in solute carrier family 34, member 3 (SLC34A3), the gene encoding the sodium-dependent phosphate cotransporter 2c (NPT2c), cause hereditary hypophosphatemic rickets with hypercalciuria (HHRH). Here, we report a pooled analysis of clinical and laboratory records of 304 individuals from 145 kindreds, including 20 previously unreported HHRH kindreds, in which two novel SLC34A3 pathogenic variants were identified. Compound heterozygous/homozygous carriers show above 90% penetrance for kidney and bone phenotypes. The biochemical phenotype for heterozygous carriers is intermediate with decreased serum phosphate, tubular reabsorption of phosphate (TRP (%)), fibroblast growth factor 23, and intact parathyroid hormone, but increased serum 1,25-dihydroxy vitamin D, and urine calcium excretion causing idiopathic hypercalciuria in 38%, with bone phenotypes still observed in 23% of patients. Oral phosphate supplementation is the current standard of care, which typically normalizes serum phosphate. However, although in more than half of individuals this therapy achieves correction of hypophosphatemia it fails to resolve the other outcomes. The American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics score correlated with functional analysis of frequent SLC34A3 pathogenic variants in vitro and baseline disease severity. The number of mutant alleles and baseline TRP (%) were identified as predictors for kidney and bone phenotypes, baseline TRP (%) furthermore predicted response to therapy. Certain SLC34A3/NPT2c pathogenic variants can be identified with partial responses to therapy, whereas with some overlap, others present only with kidney phenotypes and a third group present only with bone phenotypes. Thus, our report highlights important novel clinical aspects of HHRH and heterozygous carriers, raises awareness to this rare group of disorders and can be a foundation for future studies urgently needed to guide therapy of HHRH.

Osteoporosis and Fracture Risk among Older US Asian Adults.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: This review summarizes the current knowledge regarding osteoporosis and fracture among older US Asian adults. RECENT FINDINGS: Asian adults have lower (areal) bone density than non-Hispanic White adults and thus are more likely to be diagnosed and treated for osteoporosis, despite their lower risk of hip fracture. The latter may relate to favorable characteristics in hip geometry, volumetric bone density, and bone microarchitecture; lower risk of falls; and other clinical factors. The fracture risk calculator FRAX accounts for the lower risk of hip fracture among US Asian adults. However, data on major osteoporotic fracture risk remain limited. Fracture rates also vary by Asian subgroup, which may have implications for fracture risk assessment. Furthermore, among women receiving bisphosphonate drugs, Asian race is a risk factor for atypical femur fracture, an uncommon complication associated with treatment duration. Recent clinical trial efficacy data pertaining to lower bisphosphonate doses and longer dosing intervals may be relevant for Asian adults. More research is needed to inform osteoporosis care of US Asian adults, including risk-benefit considerations and the optimal duration of bisphosphonate treatment. Greater evidence-based guidance for primary fracture prevention among US Asian adults will ensure health equity in the prevention of osteoporotic fractures.

In osteoporosis or osteopenia, exercise interventions improve BMD; effects vary by exercise type and BMD site.

SOURCE CITATION: Zhang S, Huang X, Zhao X, et al. Effect of exercise on bone mineral density among patients with osteoporosis and osteopenia: a systematic review and network meta-analysis. J Clin Nurs. 2021. [Epub ahead of print]. 34725872.

Importance of bone turnover for therapeutic decisions in patients with CKD-MBD.

Patients with chronic kidney disease-mineral and bone disorder (CKD-MBD) frequently have low bone formation rates. A recent review suggested that adynamic bone disease is not always associated with negative outcomes and therefore antiresorptive medications could be used more often. However, there is currently no evidence to support an improvement in fracture risk or mortality in patients with CKD-MBD and low bone turnover who are treated with antiresorptive medication. There is reasonable pathophysiological evidence suggesting that it may even be harmful.

Not etched in bone: the role of osteoclast proton-sensing receptors.

The osteoclast proton-sensing receptors may play a role in osteoclastogenesis or bone resorption. The current study by Kreiger et al. found that in female mice, osteoclast-specific deletion of the gene for OGR1 resulted in increased bone mass, which demonstrates that in some situations this receptor is playing a role. However, there are some inconsistencies because the bone resorption was not reduced in their global knockout mice, and the effects are not seen in both genders or by other investigators. More work should be done to better define the role of OGR1 because acidosis is an important cause of bone loss.

In women, bisphosphonate use for ≥3 years vs. <3 months was linked to increased atypical femur fracture risk.

SOURCE CITATION: Black DM, Geiger EJ, Eastell R, et al. Atypical femur fracture risk versus fragility fracture prevention with bisphosphonates. N Engl J Med. 2020;383:743-53. 32813950.

Bisphosphonate Treatment Beyond 5 Years and Hip Fracture Risk in Older Women.

Importance: Clinical trials have demonstrated the antifracture efficacy of bisphosphonate drugs for the first 3 to 5 years of therapy. However, the efficacy of continuing bisphosphonate for as long as 10 years is uncertain. Objective: To examine the association of discontinuing bisphosphonate at study entry, discontinuing at 2 years, and continuing for 5 additional years with the risk of hip fracture among women who had completed 5 years of bisphosphonate treatment at study entry. Design, Setting, and Participants: This cohort study included women who were members of Kaiser Permanente Northern and Southern California, 2 integrated health care delivery systems, and who had initiated oral bisphosphonate and completed 5 years of treatment by January 1, 2002, to September 30, 2014. Data analysis was conducted from January 2018 to August 2020. Exposure: Discontinuation of bisphosphonate at study entry (within a 6-month grace period), discontinuation at 2 years (within a 6-month grace period), and continuation for 5 additional years. Main Outcomes and Measures: The outcome was hip fracture determined by principal hospital discharge diagnoses. Demographic, clinical, and pharmacological data were ascertained from electronic health records. Results: Among 29 685 women (median [interquartile range] age, 71 [64-77] years; 17 778 [60%] non-Hispanic White individuals), 507 incident hip fractures were identified. Compared with bisphosphonate discontinuation at study entry, there were no differences in the cumulative incidence (ie, risk) of hip fracture if women remained on therapy for 2 additional years (5-year risk difference [RD], -2.2 per 1000 individuals; 95% CI, -20.3 to 15.9 per 1000 individuals) or if women continued therapy for 5 additional years (5-year RD, 3.8 per 1000 individuals; 95% CI, -7.4 to 15.0 per 1000 individuals). While 5-year differences in hip fracture risk comparing continuation for 5 additional years with discontinuation at 2 additional years were not statistically significant (5-year RD, 6.0 per 1000 individuals; 95% CI, -9.9 to 22.0 per 1000 individuals), interim hip fracture risk appeared lower if women discontinued after 2 additional years (3-year RD, 2.8 per 1000 individuals; 95% CI, 1.3 to 4.3 per 1000 individuals; 4-year RD, 9.3 per 1000 individuals; 95% CI, 6.3 to 12.3 per 1000 individuals) but not without a 6-month grace period to define discontinuation. Conclusions and Relevance: In this study of women treated with bisphosphonate for 5 years, hip fracture risk did not differ if they discontinued treatment compared with continuing treatment for 5 additional years. If women continued for 2 additional years and then discontinued, their risk appeared lower than continuing for 5 additional years. Discontinuation at other times and fracture rates during intervening years should be further studied.

Risk of complete atypical femur fracture with Oral bisphosphonate exposure beyond three years.

BACKGROUND: Bisphosphonate (BP) therapy has been associated with atypical femur fracture (AFF). However, the threshold of treatment duration leading to increased AFF risk is unclear. In a retrospective cohort of older women initiating BP, we compared the AFF risk associated with treatment for at least three years to the risk associated with treatment less than three years. METHODS: We used observational data from a large population of female members of an integrated healthcare system who initiated oral BP during 2002-2014. Women were retrospectively followed for incident AFF confirmed by radiologic adjudication. Demographic data, pharmacologic exposures, comorbidity, bone density, and fracture history were ascertained from electronic health records. Inverse probability weighting was used to estimate risk differences comparing the cumulative incidence (risk) of AFF if women discontinued BP within three years to the cumulative incidence of AFF if women continued BP for three or more years, adjusting for potential time-dependent confounding by the aforementioned factors. RESULTS: Among 87,820 women age 45-84 years who initiated BP (mean age 68.6, median T-score - 2.6, 14% with prior major osteoporotic fracture), 16,180 continued BP for three or more years. Forty-six confirmed AFFs occurred during follow-up in the two groups. AFF-free survival was greater for BP treatment < 3 years compared to treatment ≥3 years (p = 0.004 comparing areas under survival curves). At five years, the risk of AFF was 27 per 100,000 (95% confidence interval, CI: 8-46) if women received BP treatment < 3 years and 120 per 100,000 (95% CI: 56-183) if women received BP treatment ≥3 years (risk difference 93 per 100,000, 95% CI: 30-160). By ten years, the risks were 27 (95% CI: 8-46) and 363 (95% CI: 132-593) per 100,000 for BP treatment < 3 and ≥ 3 years, respectively (risk difference 336 per 100,000, 95% CI: 110-570). CONCLUSIONS: Bisphosphonate treatment for 3 or more years was associated with greater risk of AFF than treatment for less than 3 years. Although AFFs are uncommon among BP-treated women, this increased risk should be considered when counseling women about long-term BP use. Future studies should further characterize the dose-response relationship between BP duration and incident AFF and identify patients at highest risk.

Structural and Metabolic Assessment of Bone.

The assessment of bone structure and metabolism should focus on the bone strength. Many factors are involved, and although bone density is an important component, it is not the same as bone strength. Other aspects of bone quality include bone volume, micro-architecture, material composition, and ability to repair damage. This chapter briefly reviews some of the methods that can be used to assess both density and quality of bone. Non-invasive measurements of density or structure include dual X-ray absorptiometry (DXA), quantitative computed tomography, ultrasound, and magnetic resonance imaging. DXA is most widely used and has advantages of safety and accessibility, but there are limitations in the interpretation of the results, and in clinical practice positioning errors are frequently seen. Invasive methods are used primarily for research. Samples of bone can be used to measure structure by histology as well as micro-computed tomography and infra-red spectroscopy or backscattered electron microscopy. Force can be directly applied to bone samples to measure the bones strength. Impact microindentation is a new minimally invasive technique that measures bone hardness. Metabolic assessment includes blood and urine tests that reflect diseases that cause bone loss, particularly problems with mineral metabolism. Tetracycline-labelled bone biopsies are the standard for measuring bone formation. Non-invasive biochemical tests of bone formation and resorption can evaluate a patient's skeletal physiology.

Bone Health Management After Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation: An Expert Panel Opinion from the American Society for Transplantation and Cellular Therapy.

Bone health disturbances commonly occur after hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) with loss of bone mineral density (BMD) and avascular necrosis (AVN) foremost among them. BMD loss is related to pretransplantation chemotherapy and radiation exposure and immunosuppressive therapy for graft-versus-host-disease (GVHD) and results from deficiencies in growth or gonadal hormones, disturbances in calcium and vitamin D homeostasis, as well as osteoblast and osteoclast dysfunction. Although the pathophysiology of AVN remains unclear, high-dose glucocorticoid exposure is the most frequent association. Various societal treatment guidelines for osteoporosis exist, but the focus is mainly on menopausal-associated osteoporosis. HCT survivors comprise a distinct population with unique comorbidities, making general approaches to bone health management inappropriate in some cases. To address a core set of 16 frequently asked questions (FAQs) relevant to bone health in HCT, the American Society of Transplant and Cellular Therapy Committee on Practice Guidelines convened a panel of experts in HCT, adult and pediatric endocrinology, orthopedics, and oral medicine. Owing to a lack of relevant prospective controlled clinical trials that specifically address bone health in HCT, the answers to the FAQs rely on evidence derived from retrospective HCT studies, results extrapolated from prospective studies in non-HCT settings, relevant societal guidelines, and expert panel opinion. Given the heterogenous comorbidities and needs of individual HCT recipients, answers to FAQs in this article should be considered general recommendations, with good medical practice and judgment ultimately dictating care of individual patients. Readers are referred to the Supplementary Material for answers to additional FAQs that did not make the core set.

Determinants of Oral Bisphosphonate Use Beyond 5 Years.

BACKGROUND: Few studies have examined factors that determine bisphosphonate (BP) continuation beyond 5 years in clinical practice. OBJECTIVE: To investigate factors associated with BP continuation among women who completed 5 years of BP therapy. METHODS: Women who received 5 consecutive years of oral BP treatment entered the cohort during 2002-2014 and were followed up to 5 additional years. Multivariable logistic regression was used to evaluate the association of demographic and clinical factors with adherent treatment continuation. RESULTS: The cohort included 19,091 women with a median age of 72 years. Baseline and time-varying factors associated with increased odds of BP continuation after 5 years were (a) most recent bone mineral density (BMD) T-score -2 to -2.4 (OR = 1.31, 95% CI = 1.25-1.38), T-score -2.5 to -2.9 (OR = 1.48, 95% CI = 1.39-1.57), and T-score ≤ -3.0 (OR = 1.57, 95% CI = 1.47-1.68) versus T-scores above -2.0; (b) index date before 2008 (OR =1.35, 95% CI = 1.29-1.41); and (c) diabetes mellitus (OR = 1.08, 95% CI = 1.01-1.16). In contrast, factors associated with decreased odds of BP continuation were (a) recent hip (OR = 0.61, 95% CI = 0.52-0.71) or humerus (OR = 0.79, 95% CI = 0.66-0.94) fracture or fracture other than hip, wrist, spine, or humerus (OR = 0.90, 95% CI = 0.84-0.97); (b) Charlson Comorbidity Index score > 2 (OR = 0.91, 95% CI = 0.84-0.98); (c) history of rheumatoid arthritis (OR = 0.89, 95% CI = 0.80-0.99); (d) Hispanic (OR = 0.89, 95% CI=0.85-0.94) or Asian (OR = 0.90, 95% CI = 0.85-0.94) race/ethnicity; and (e) use of proton pump inhibitors (OR = 0.65, 95% CI = 0.59-0.71). Patient age and fracture before BP initiation were not associated with treatment continuation. CONCLUSIONS: Clinical factors predicting continued BP treatment beyond 5 years include low BMD T-score, absence of recent fracture, and earlier era of treatment. Use of proton pump inhibitors was associated with lower likelihood of BP continuation. Other clinical and demographic factors were also noted to have variable effects on BP treatment continuation. DISCLOSURES: This study was supported by a grant from the National Institute on Aging and National Institute of Arthritis, Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases at the National Institutes of Health (NIH; R01AG047230, S1). The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the NIH or Kaiser Permanente. Lo has received previous research funding from Amgen and Sanofi, unrelated to the current study. Adams has received previous research funding from Merck, Amgen, Otsuka, and Radius Health, unrelated to the current study. Ettinger has served as an expert witness for Teva Pharmaceuticals, unrelated to the current study. Ott previously attended a scientific advisory meeting for Amgen but declined the honorarium. The other authors have nothing to disclose. These data were presented at the 2018 Annual Meeting of the American Society of Bone and Mineral Research (ASBMR), September 28-October 1, 2018, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

Using Pharmacy Data and Adherence to Define Long-Term Bisphosphonate Exposure in Women.

BACKGROUND: Assigning drug exposure is a necessary first step in examining bisphosphonate (BP) treatment in observational studies using pharmacy data. OBJECTIVE: To determine whether the choice of adherence level using the proportion of days covered (PDC) affected BP exposure assignment. METHODS: 10,381 female health plan members who initiated oral BP therapy between 2002 and 2010 and had received 5 consecutive years of treatment were identified and subsequently followed up to 5 additional years. In each 90-day interval of follow-up, a woman was considered "on treatment" if she received the drug for more than a predetermined PDC based on pharmacy days supply and "off treatment" if she received the drug for less than that PDC. Women who continued on therapy above the PDC threshold during follow-up were considered continuously on therapy. Women who were off treatment during the first 90-days of follow-up were classified as off therapy and were followed to determine if they remained continuously off treatment. This study evaluated the extent to which varying the PDC threshold (≥ 0.5, ≥ 0.6, and ≥ 0.7) affected the proportion of women classified as "continuously on" or "continuously off" BP during follow-up. RESULTS: Under PDC thresholds of 0.5, 0.6, and 0.7, 48%, 43%, and 36% of women who remained on follow-up were categorized as continuously on treatment at year 2 of follow-up, and 18%, 14%, and 12% were categorized as continuously on treatment by the end of follow-up. Using these same PDC thresholds, 9%, 12%, and 15% of women were categorized as off therapy during the first quarter of follow-up and were highly likely to remain off therapy: 4%, 5%, and 5% were classified as continuously off therapy at year 2, and 4% of women were classified as such by the end of follow-up for all 3 thresholds. CONCLUSIONS: A PDC of 0.6 was chosen as a practical threshold for drug adherence. Varying the PDC to 0.5 or 0.7 resulted in modest changes in the proportions of women considered continuously on BP therapy. DISCLOSURES: This study was supported by a grant from the National Institute of Aging and National Institute of Arthritis, Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases at the National Institutes of Health (R01AG047230, S1). Lo has received previous research funding from Amgen and Sanofi, outside of the current study. Chandra has received previous research funding from Amgen outside of the current study. Adams has received previous research funding from Merck, Amgen, Otsuka, and Radius Health, outside of the current study. Ott previously attended a scientific advisory meeting for Amgen but declined the honorarium. Ettinger previously served as an expert witness for Teva Pharmaceuticals.

Renal insufficiency and bone loss.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Patients with chronic kidney disease have a high risk of fractures and no established treatments that have been shown to prevent the bone disease. The physiology of renal osteodystrophy is complex and recently more factors have been found that complicate the mineral metabolism. The recognition that vascular calcifications are related to bone disease has made treatment even more challenging. RECENT FINDINGS: The most exciting new findings relate to the signaling pathways that are seen in kidney disease and how they cause abnormalities in bone physiology. In particular, wnt and activin signaling pathways are seen early in the course of renal disease. The bones react by increasing FGF-23, which targets both renal phosphate secretion and a variety of other systemic effects. Secreted klotho is another newly described hormone with effects on several systems.Clinical studies have focused on treatments for hyperparathyroidism and phosphate, and frustrating limitations of the treatments used for ordinary osteoporosis. SUMMARY: Treatment of bone disease in patients with chronic kidney disease is challenging, and understanding the physiological pathways could lead to novel therapies.

The effect of raloxifene on bone marrow adipose tissue and bone turnover in postmenopausal women with osteoporosis.

In patients with postmenopausal osteoporosis low bone volume is associated with high bone marrow adipose tissue (MAT). Moreover, high MAT is associated with increased fracture risk. This suggests an interaction between MAT and bone turnover, however literature remains equivocal. Estrogen treatment decreases MAT, but the effect of raloxifene, a selective estrogen receptor modulator (SERM) registered for treatment of postmenopausal osteoporosis, on MAT is not known. The aim of this study is 1] to determine the effect of raloxifene on MAT and 2] to determine the relationship between MAT and bone turnover in patients with osteoporosis. Bone biopsies from the MORE trial were analyzed. The MORE trial investigated the effects of raloxifene 60 or 120mg per day versus placebo on bone metabolism and fracture incidence in patients with postmenopausal osteoporosis. We quantified MAT in iliac crest biopsies obtained at baseline and after 2years of treatment (n=53; age 68.2±6.2years). Raloxifene did not affect the change in MAT volume after 2years compared to baseline (placebo: 1.89±10.84%, raloxifene 60mg: 6.31±7.22%, raloxifene 120mg: -0.77±10.72%), nor affected change in mean adipocyte size (placebo: 1.45 (4.45) µm, raloxifene 60mg: 1.45 (4.35) µm, raloxifene 120mg: 0.81 (5.21) µm). Adipocyte number tended to decrease after placebo treatment (-9.92 (42.88) cells/mm2) and tended to increase during raloxifene 60mg treatment (13.27 (66.14) cells/mm2) while adipocyte number remained unchanged in the raloxifene 120mg group, compared to placebo (3.06 (39.80) cells/mm2, Kruskal-Wallis p=0.055, post hoc: placebo vs raloxifene 60mg p=0.017). MAT volume and adipocyte size were negatively associated with osteoclast number at baseline (R2=0.123, p=0.006 and R2=0.098, p=0.016 respectively). Furthermore adipocyte size was negatively associated with osteoid surface (R2=0.067, p=0.049). Finally, patients with vertebral fractures had higher MAT volume (50.82 (8.80)%) and larger adipocytes (55.75 (3.14) µm) compared to patients without fractures (45.58 (12.72)% p=0.032, 52.77 (3.73) µm p=0.004 respectively). In conclusion, raloxifene did not affect marrow adipose tissue, but tended to increase adipocyte number compared to placebo. At baseline MAT volume and adipocyte size were associated with bone resorption, and adipocyte size was associated with osteoid surface, suggesting an interaction between bone marrow adipocytes and bone turnover. In addition, we found that high MAT volume and larger adipocyte size are associated with prevalent vertebral fractures in postmenopausal women with osteoporosis, indicating that adipocyte size affects bone quality independent of bone volume.

Bones and the sex hormones.

Sex hormones act in multiple ways to maintain a strong skeleton. In men, estrogen regulates cortical bone turnover, but testosterone maintains trabecular turnover. In normal men, sex hormone-binding protein is an independent risk factor for fractures. This led Aleksova and colleagues to measure the sex hormones and their binding protein in men receiving dialysis. Both higher sex hormone-binding globulin and higher total testosterone were associated with prevalent nonvertebral fractures, adding another layer of complexity to renal osteodystrophy.