Bone
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The present study examined the effect of the highly potent nitrogen-containing bisphosphonate, minodronic acid (ONO-5920/YM529), on bone mineral density (BMD), bone turnover, bone histomorphometry and bone strength in ovariectomized (OVX) rats. Female F344/DuCrj rats, aged 14 weeks, were OVX or sham operated. After 3 months, the OVX rats showed an increase in bone turnover, and a decrease in bone mass and bone strength. ⋯ In particular, in the mid femur, treatment with 0.03 and 0.15 mg/kg minodronic acid increased bone strength to sham levels or greater. In conclusion, minodronic acid suppressed increased bone turnover, plus prevented the decrease in BMD, deterioration of bone microarchitecture and reduction in bone strength in OVX rats with established osteopenia. These results suggest that minodronic acid may be clinically useful for treatment of osteoporosis.
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The increased hip fragility in osteoporosis has been attributed mainly to a thinning of the cortex. In contrast, hip arthritis (OA) is not associated with increased risk of hip fracture. The purpose of this study was to assess cortical and trabecular bone structures and their possible regional variability in the femoral neck taken from patients who sustained an osteoporotic hip fracture (OP) compared with patients with OA. ⋯ The connectivity was the lowest in the inferior quadrant in OP but not in OA. Our data suggest that in addition to the cortical thinning, the loss of the trabecular bone mass and connectivity plays a role in the skeletal fragility associated with hip fracture. Furthermore, the spatial distribution of the trabeculae differs between OP and OA whereas cortical thinning is homogenous.