Endocrine Abstracts

It has been suggested that the association between osteoporosis and cardio-vascular diseases is not just due to the aging process. The osteoprotegerin (OPG)/RANKL system has been identified as a possible mediator of arterial calcification suggesting common links between osteoporosis and vascular diseases. Moreover, breast arterial calcification (BAC) is reported to be associated with an increased prevalence of both cardiovascular risk factors and cardiovascular morbidity. In contrast, it has known that hypertension, diabetes or hyperlipidemia is one of risk factors for progressing arteriosclerosis and vascular calcification. The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between serum soluble RANKL (sRANKL) levels and breast arterial calcification in Japanese osteoporotic postmenopausal women. This study was carried out in 51 postmenopausal women aged 46–82 years who underwent screening mammography. Participants were divided into four groups of the number of calcified vessels including, 0BAC: no calcification, 1BAC: one calcified vessel, 2BAC: two calcified vessels and >3BAC: more than three calcified vessels. Serum sRANKL, OPG, alkaline phosphatase (Alp) and urinary type-I collagen cross-linked-N-telopeptide (uNTX) were measured. The mean age of these 51 women was 64.5+1.1 years-old, 0BAC; n=25, 1BAC; n=11, 2BAC; n=8 and >3BAC; n=7. The prevalence of BAC was clearly increased in osteoporosis group as compared with normal BMD group. In the subgroups of BAC, BMD in >3BAC group was clearly decreased, and serum sRANKL levels were significantly increased in >3BAC group compared with those in 0BAC group. In addition, sRANKL/OPG ratio was pivotally higher in 2BAC and >3BAC groups compared with that in 0BAC group. Moreover, serum sRANKL levels are increased in postmenopausal women with hypertension, but not diabetes and hyperlipidemia. In contrast, serum Alp and uNTX were not significantly changed, increasing the number of BAC in postmenopausal women. In conclusion, the prevalence of BAC in Japanese postmenopausal women was remarkedly high in osteoporosis. Especially, that sRANKL and sRANKL/OPG ratio were increased in postmenopausal women with severe calcification of breast artery and hypertension, suggesting that serum sRANKL might play a role in common links between osteoporosis and cardio-vascular diseases.

Declaration of interest: The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest that could be perceived as prejudicing the impartiality of the research project.

Funding: This research did not receive any specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sector.