Niveles séricos de osteoprotegerina en mujeres sanas y osteoporóticas

The RANK/RANKL/OPG* system has been recently emphasized as an osteoclastic activity regulator. In this work, we studied 80 adult women and determined their serum OPG levels depending on their age, the presence or abscense of osteoporosis (classified by bone mineral density ­BMD­ measurements of the lumbar spine according WHO criteria), and Colles' and hip fractures status. We found a positive correlation between serum OPG and age (p < 0.0001), and a negative correlation between serum OPG and BMD (p = 0.002). In postmenopausal women with osteoporosis and without Colles' and hip fracture were lower OPG values compared with non osteoporotic postmenopausal women; and the OPG values in osteoporotic women with Colles' were upper compared with non fractured women. We considere that the higher production of OPG observed with the age may be a protector mechanism to compensate the higher bone resorption, and possibly, when that production be not sufficient, the osteoporosis will appear.