Endocrine Abstracts

Growth hormone (GH) plays a critical role for longitudinal bone growth in children, the achievement of a normal peak bone mass in young adults, and it also affects bone mass and bone remodelling in adults. Among the most reported features of severe growth hormone deficiency (GHD) are abnormal body composition, in particular, increased fat mass and reduced lean body mass, osteopenia and increased risk of fracture. Low bone mass has been reported using dual energy X-ray absorpti...

Glucocorticoid-induced osteoporosis (GIO) is the most relevant form of secondary osteoporosis and fractures occur in 30–50% of individuals. Moreover, glucocorticoids (GC) may cause osteonecrosis in as many as 25% of patients on high-dose or long-term therapy. Bone loss occurs fast and may be as high as 10–15% within the first 3–6 months and preferentially affects bone sites rich in cancellous bone such as the ribs, vertebral bodies and the femoral neck. It appea...

Vitamin D is an essential hormone for skeletal metabolism across the lifecycle. Rickets and osteomalacia, uncommon manifestations of vitamin D deficiency in western countries, are still common in the Middle East and Asia (1, 2). Furthermore, low bone mass and fractures, latent manifestations of vitamin D insufficiency, are common conditions worldwide (3, 4). Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25-OHD) level is the best index of vitamin D nutritional status, and whereas it is generally ...

Osteoporosis-related fractures constitute a major health concern not only in women but also in men. The relative contribution of estrogens and androgens for the male skeleton remains unclear. Most epidemiological studies demonstrate that serum estradiol is a stronger predictor of bone mineral density than serum testosterone. However, conflicting results have been presented regarding the impact of serum sex steroids for fracture risk in men, probably because previous studies ha...