A multi-dimensional questionnaire quantifying quality of life in elderly osteoporotic women: the Italian triple-Q osteoporosis study.

Background And Aims: In advanced age, the influence of vertebral fractures on quality of life extends well beyond the usual sequelae of osteoporosis. In order to intercept older subjects' distress associated with the clinical, functional, social and psychological consequences of the disease, we developed and validated a multidimensional instrument (the triple-Q questionnaire) tailored to older women with osteoporotic fractures. We also examined specific aspects of the questionnaire correlated with bone mineral density.

LRP5 gene polymorphism and cortical bone.

Background And Aims: There is evidence that distinct genetic polymorphisms of LRP5 are associated with low Bone Mineral Density (BMD) and the risk of fracture. However, relationships between LRP5 polymorphisms and micro- and macro architectural bone characteristics assessed by pQCT have not been studied. The aim of the present study was to investigate the association of Ala1330Val and Val667Met polymorphisms in LRP5 gene with volumetric BMD (vBMD) and macro-architectural bone parameters in a population-based sample of men and women.

[Guidelines for the diagnosis, prevention and treatment of osteoporosis].

Unlabelled: The guidelines for the osteoporosis management were first drafted by a working group and then critically evaluated by the board of SIOMMMS. The most relevant points are:

Definition: Osteoporosis is defined as a quantitative and qualitative deterioration of bone tissue leading to increased risk of fracture. Postmenopausal and senile osteoporosis are defined as primitive.

Genetic architecture of hand quantitative ultrasound measures: a population-based study in a Sardinian genetic isolate.

It is now recognized that quantitative ultrasound (QUS) measures may predict osteoporotic fracture risk independently of bone mineral density. Although many studies have examined genetic and environmental components of bone mineral density and calcaneal QUS measures, few of them were addressed to phalangeal QUS phenotypes, and none to graphic trace parameters. This study aims to evaluate the relative contribution of genetics in the expression of phalangeal QUS traits in the adult healthy population of a Sardinian genetic isolate.

Performance of five phalangeal QUS parameters in the evaluation of gonadal-status, age and vertebral fracture risk compared with DXA.

The aim of this cross-sectional study was to study the value of five different quantified ultrasound (QUS) parameters-amplitude-dependent speed of sound (AD-SoS), Ultrasound Bone Profile Index (UBPI), fast-wave amplitude (FWA), bone transmission time (BTT) and signal dynamic (SDY)-measured at the phalanges of the hand in discriminating women with vertebral fracture and their relationship with some determinants of bone mass, in particular age and gonadal status compared with lumbar spine and hip dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA). We included 791 women aged 35-84 y, divided into pre-menopause, early menopause and late postmenopause groups on the basis of gonadal status and years since menopause (YSM). The presence of vertebral fracture was evaluated radiographically.