Effect of vitamin D and calcium supplementation on bone turnover in institutionalized adults with Down's Syndrome.

Objective: To assess the status of vitamin D and the effects of calcium and vitamin D3 supplementation on the bone metabolism in a group of adults with Down's syndrome (DS).

Design: Randomized, parallel, controlled and open clinical trial.

Setting: Institution for mentally handicapped: Fundación Uliazpi, Diputación Foral de Guipúzcoa, San Sebastián, Spain.

[Digital computerized absorptiometry in the diagnosis of osteoporosis in a group of the severely mentally retarded].

Background: The loss of bone mass after a certain age is a physiological fact that, in certain circumstances, is capable of inducing osteoporosis. In the diagnostic strategies for this condition, densitometry is a well-accepted technique now widely used. On patients with severe mental retardation, a number of circumstances come into play and may foster a greater frequency of osteoporosis.