Bisphosphonates routine in prevention of post-transplant osteoporosis?
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Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to Günter Höfle.
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BACKGROUND: Osteoporosis and the subsequent increase in incidence of fractures are a common problem after cardiac transplantation. DESIGN: We performed a cross-sectional evaluation of male cardiac-transplant recipients in a late post-transplantation period (4.2 +/- 2.6 years after cardiac transplantation, n = 21). Bone-mineral density was measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry and by quantitative heel ultrasound, and the endocrine characteristics of cardiac-transplant recipients with and without vertebral fractures were investigated. RESULTS: A significant negative correlation was observed between sex-hormone-binding globulin and femoral-neck bone-mineral density (rs = -0.699; p value = 0.001). Linear regression analysis controlling for age and body-mass index proved sex-hormone-binding globulin to be an independent negative predictor for femoral-neck bone-mineral density (r = -0.474; p value = 0.035). Patients with vertebral fractures had significantly lower femoral-neck bone-mineral density (pvalue = 0.035). However, sex-hormone-binding globulin, total and free testosterone, and estradiol did not exhibit significant associations with vertebral fractures in our patients. CONCLUSION: This investigation demonstrates for the first time an association between high sex-hormone-binding globulin levels and low femoral-neck bone-mineral density in a cohort of male cardiac-transplant recipients. Our data support the important role of sex-hormone-binding globulin in the pathogenesis of post-transplantation bone disease, although--possibly because of the small number of patients--we could not prove an interrelation of sex-hormone-binding globulin with vertebral fractures.
Post-transplantation bone disease is a frequent problem after successful cardiac transplantation. We performed a cross-sectional analysis of male heart transplant recipients in the late post-transplantation period. Nine patients (group A) had received immunosuppressive therapy with cyclosporin A and mycophenolate mofetil (steroid-free treatment), and 12 patients (group B) remained on triple-drug therapy, which included glucocorticosteroids. Bone mineral density status was analyzed by osteodensitometry and by markers of bone turnover. Osteopenia was common in both groups (44.4% in group A and 50% in group B) as was osteoporosis (30% and 33.3% in groups A and B, respectively). beta-CrossLaps were significantly lower in sera of cardiac transplant recipients on double immunosuppressive (i.e., glucocorticosteroid-free) regimen than in sera of patients on triple-drug therapy (428.3+/-109.4 vs 661.7+/-337.0 pg/ml, P<0.05). Lower serum beta-CrossLaps levels in patients undergoing glucocorticosteroid-free treatment may indicate a lower risk of bone deterioration in the long term.