Bone Composition in Senile Osteoporosis: A Preliminary Report

FOR YEARS, OSTEOPOROSIS has been widely assumed to result from a deficiency in matrix formation with a proportionate reduction in mineral. More recently, Nordin has challenged the theory of matrix deficiency as the primary cause of osteoporosis. He suggests that osteoporosis may be due to prolonged dietary deficiency of calcium, with a resultant decrease in bone formation. Most of the work leading to these conflicting postulates has been based upon metabolic and balance studies, and has not included determinations of bone composition. The gross composition of bone may be described in terms of three major components: mineral, organic material, and water. Whereas the composition of normal bone in these terms seems well established, the authors have found very limited information in the literature pertaining to bone composition in osteoporosis. The only study that we have found relevant to the gross composition of osteoporotic bone, presumably dealt with mild cases