Determination of bone mineral content and correlations with calciotropic hormones in periodic hemodialysis patients

The investigation on several forms of uremic osteodystrophy by means of bone mineral content (BMC) measurement led to contradictory conclusions. BMC in 27 patients on periodical hemodialysis treatment was measured correlating it to the seric levels of Ca, P, Mg, alkaline phosphatase (AP), calcitonin (Ct), osteocalcin (BGP), intact parathormone (PTHi), c-terminal and mean molecule PTH. Patients on dialysis treatment from a long period of time showed high AP and low BMC levels. This correlation proved significant just for the values recorded at a third distal site of radius. Patients with BMC under the normal range showed higher BGP levels and a longer period of dialytic treatment than those presenting normal BMC. The former showed a Ct inverse correlation as to age and mineralization indexes. Higher values of Ct and BMC have been reported in males rather than in females. Hence BMC is not suited to investigate different kinds of uremic osteodystrophy. Seric PTH dosage is certainly best fitted to discriminate patients affected with hyperparathyroidism from those with low turnover osteodystrophy. BMC determination is a valid support to evaluate the bone mineral loss in patients on haemodialysis treatment. It significatively correlates to the duration of the dialytic treatment; it is higher in female than in male population; it mainly affects cortical components rather than trabecular ones and is related to a seric Ct decrease.