Changes in Blood Pressure is Associated with Bone Loss in US Adults: A Cross-Sectional Study from NHANES 2005-2018.

Hypertension and osteoporosis are common geriatric diseases, sharing similar risk factors. This study aims to investigate this association and explore relatively mixed variables. Our study included 12,787 eligible participants from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2005-2018. Included participants had valid data on hypertension and osteoporosis, without tumors, liver diseases, gout or thyroid diseases. We explored the association between hypertension and osteoporosis by logistic regression and examined blood pressure and BMD/BMC by linear and non-linear regression. Moreover, we used machine learning models to predict the importance of various factors in the occurrence of osteoporosis and evaluated causality by mendelian randomization. Our study found that osteoporosis is significantly associated with hypertension [OR 2.072 (95% CI 2.067-2.077), p < 0.001]. After adjusting for co-variances, the association remained significant [OR 1.223 (95% CI 1.220-1.227), p < 0.001]. Our study showed that osteoporosis is positively associated with hypertension in the US population. A variety of factors influence this relationship. Specific regulatory mechanisms and confounding factors need to be further investigated.

Mediating oxidative stress through the Palbociclib/miR-141-3p/STAT4 axis in osteoporosis: a bioinformatics and experimental validation study.

Osteoporosis is a common bone disease characterized by loss of bone mass, reduced bone strength, and deterioration of bone microstructure. ROS-induced oxidative stress plays an important role in osteoporosis. However, the biomarkers and molecular mechanisms of oxidative stress are still unclear. We obtained the datasets from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database, and performed differential analysis, Venn analysis, and weighted correlation network analysis (WGCNA) analysis out the hub genes. Then, the correlation between inflammatory factors and hub genes was analyzed, and a Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis was performed on cytokines and osteoporosis outcomes. In addition, "CIBERSORT" was used to analyze the infiltration of immune cells and single-cell RNA-seq data was used to analyze the expression distribution of hub genes and cell-cell communications. Finally, we collected human blood samples for RT-qPCR and Elisa experiments, the miRNA-mRNA network was constructed using the miRBase database, the 3D structure was predicted using the RNAfold, Vfold3D database, and the drug sensitivity analysis was performed using the RNAactDrug database. We obtained three differentially expressed genes associated with oxidative stress: DBH, TAF15, and STAT4 by differential, WGCNA clustering, and Venn screening analyses, and further analyzed the correlation of these 3 genes with inflammatory factors and immune cell infiltration and found that STAT4 was significantly and positively correlated with IL-2. Single-cell data analysis showed that the STAT4 gene was highly expressed mainly in dendritic cells and monocytes. In addition, the results of RT-qPCR and Elisa experiments verified that the expression of STAT4 was consistent with the previous analysis, and a significant causal relationship between IL-2 and STAT4 SNPs and osteoporosis was found by Mendelian randomization. Finally, through miRNA-mRNA network and drug sensitivity analysis, we analyzed to get Palbociclib/miR-141-3p/STAT4 axis, which can be used for the prevention and treatment of osteoporosis. In this study, we proposed the Palbociclib/miR-141-3p/STAT4 axis for the first time and provided new insights into the mechanism of oxidative stress in osteoporosis.

Screw Pullout Strength After Pedicle Screw Reposition: A Finite Element Analysis.

RESEARCH DESIGN: Finite element analysis based on computed tomography images from the lumbar spine. OBJECTIVE: Determined the pullout strength of unsatisfactorily placed screws and repositioned screws after unsatisfactory place in lumbar spine surgery. BACKGROUND: Pedicle screws are widely used to stabilize the spinal vertebral body. Unsatisfactory screws could lead to surgical complications, and may need to be repositioned. Screw removal and reposition, however, may decrease pullout strength. METHODS: We conducted a three-dimensional finite element analysis based on high-resolution computed tomography images from a 39-year-old healthy woman. Pullout strength was determined with the screw placed in different orientations at the same entry point (as selected by the Magerl method), as well as after removal and reposition. The material properties of the vertebral body and the screw were simulated by using grayscale values and verified data, respectively. A load along the screw axis was applied to the end of the screw to simulate the pullout. RESULTS: The pullout strength was 1840.0 N with the Magerl method. For unsatisfactorily placed screws, the pullout strength was 1500.8 N at 20% overlap, 1609.6 N at 40% overlap, 1628.9 N at 60% overlap, and 1734.7 N at 80% overlap with the hypothetical screw path of the Magerl method. For repositioned screws, the pullout strength was 1763.6 N, with 20% overlap, 1728.3 N at 40% overlap, 1544.0 N at 60% overlap, and 1491.1 N at 80% overlap, with the original path. Comparison of repositioned screw with unsatisfactorily placed screw showed 14.04% decrease in pullout strength at 80% overlap, 5.21% decrease at 60% overlap, 7.37% increase at 40% overlap, and 17.51% increase at 20% overlap, with the screw path of the Magerl method. CONCLUSIONS: Removal and reposition increased the pullout strength at 20% and 40% overlap, but decreased the pullout strength at 60% and 80% overlap. For clinical translation, we recommend removal and reposition of the screw when the overlap is in the range of 20% to 40% or less. In vitro specimen studies are needed to verify these preliminary findings.