Effect ofSexHormones onBone inPrimary Osteoporosis

A BSTRACT Theeffect ofsexhormones on bone tissue wasstudied in12osteoporotic patients. Surfaces ofboneundergoing formation andresorption weredetermined by quantitative microradiography of iliac crest biopsy samples before andafter treatment with estrogens in11postmenopausal womenandwithtestosterone inonegonadally competent man.Before treatment,boneresorption wasgreater thannormalinall butonepatient andboneformation wasnormal. After treatment, boneresorption decreased towithin thenormalrangeinallpatients, andboneformation didnot change significantly. Biochemical studies showed significantdecreases inserumcalcium, phosphorus, andalkaline phosphatase levels andinurinary excretion ofcalciumandhydroxyproline. Thesechanges arebelieved to betheconsequence oftheeffect ofthehormones on bone. Thedataindicate thatthemajoreffect ofsex hormones inosteoporosis isan inhibition ofbone resorption.