25 Jun New Bone Balance Index Predicts Bone Loss Across Menopause Transition

MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Albert Shieh, MD
Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Hypertension
David Geffen School of Medicine
University of California, Los Angeles

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?

Response: Whether an individual loses or gains bone mass is dependent on how much bone is being broken down (by osteoclasts) and being formed (by osteoblasts). Both processes occur simultaneously in the human body. At present, we can measure markers of bone breakdown (resorption) and formation. However, we hypothesized that to better predict the amount of bone mass that will be lost in the future, these markers should be combined in an “index” to reflect both processes, rather than being interpreted in isolation. Indeed, we found that the ability of our new bone balance index predicted future bone loss across the menopause transition better than the bone resorption marker alone.

MedicalResearch.com: What should readers take away from your report?

Response: This new bone balance index may improve our ability to predict future bone loss, but further studies to validate our approach are required.

MedicalResearch.com: What recommendations do you have for future research as a result of this study?

Response: We need to test whether this bone balance index predicts bone loss after the menopause transition and whether it predicts fracture as well.

MedicalResearch.com: Thank you for your contribution to the MedicalResearch.com community.

Citation:

Albert Shieh, Weijuan Han, Shinya Ishii, Gail A. Greendale, Carolyn J. Crandall, Arun S. Karlamangla. Quantifying the Balance Between Total Bone Formation and Total Bone Resorption: An Index of Net Bone Formation. The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, 2016; jc.2015-4262 DOI: 10.1210/jc.2015-4262

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Last Updated on June 25, 2016 by Marie Benz MD FAAD