Calcified tissue international
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Calcif. Tissue Int. · Apr 2005
Long-term morbidity and mortality after a clinically diagnosed vertebral fracture in the elderly--a 12- and 22-year follow-up of 257 patients.
The objective of this study was to analyze the long-term morbidity and mortality in patients with a clinically diagnosed vertebral fracture. Seventy men with a mean age of 70 years (range 50-91 years) and 187 women with a mean age of 72 years (range 50-96 years) were radiographically diagnosed as having a vertebral fracture in the thoracic or lumbar spine at the Malmö University Hospital (Sweden) during 1979. At the time of a follow-up examination 12 years later, 56 of the 76 patients who were still alive participated in an investigation that evaluated back pain and subjective health status by a questionnaire. ⋯ The mortality rate during the 22 years following the diagnosis among the male patients was 111.7 per 1,000 person-years as compared with 73.4 per 1,000 person-years among the male population at risk. The mortality rate among the female patients was 95.1 per 1,000 person-years as compared with 62.0 per 1,000 person-years among the female population at risk. We conclude that a clinically diagnosed thoracic or lumbar vertebral fracture in the elderly can be regarded as a risk factor for subsequent, long-term morbidity, especially in women, and for mortality in both genders.
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Calcif. Tissue Int. · Apr 2005
Osteoprotegerin treatment impairs remodeling and apparent material properties of callus tissue without influencing structural fracture strength.
The influence of osteoprotegerin (OPG) treatment on callus formation, callus tissue structural strength, apparent material properties, and histology of tibia fractures in rats was investigated after 3 weeks and 8 weeks of healing. OPG was given intravenously (10 mg/kg twice weekly) during the entire observation period, and control animals with fractures received vehicle only. ⋯ The experiment demonstrates that OPG treatment does not influence the early callus expansion and fracture strength. However, during the subsequent period of remodelling, OPG treatment impairs the normal remodeling and consolidation processes.