Effects of prednisolone and deflazacort on osteocalcin metabolism in sheep

Glucocorticoids adversely affect bone and mineral metabolism through a number of mechanisms, including inhibition of bone formation. Deflazacort is a glucocorticoid which has been reported to be relatively “bone-sparing.” We compared the effects in oophorectomized sheep of deflazacort and prednisolone on the metabolism of osteocalcin (OC), a marker of osteoblast function. An [125I]OC infusion method was used to measure the OC plasma clearance rate (PCR) and OC plasma production rate (PPR).