Increased vascularization in myeloma.

Several studies have shown that the number of intratumoral vessels can predict the aggressiveness of a solid cancer, development of metastases and patient survival. Does angiogenesis play an important role in myeloma? The aim of our study was to quantify bone marrow vascularity in various stages of proliferative plasma cell disorders (monoclonal gammopathies of undetermined significance (MGUS), stage I multiple myeloma (MM), stage III MM and Waldenström's macroglobulinemia (WM)) and to compare it with that of patients with osteoporosis. The study included 15 MGUS patients, 15 patients with stage I MM, 15 patients with symptomatic stage III MM, 7 patients with WM, 10 patients with osteoporosis, and 10 patients with reactive bone marrow (RBM), matched for sex and age.

Histological appearance of the intra-osseous vessels of the femoral head in aseptic osteonecrosis of the hip, with or without antiphospholipid antibodies.

Unlabelled: It has been suggested that in some patients non-traumatic aseptic osteonecrosis of the hip (AOH) could be the result of the intra-osseous thrombosis. Antiphospholipid antibodies (APL) have been associated with venous and arterial occlusive events and the association between AOH and APL syndrome has been reported.

Objectives: To compare bone vessels of the femoral head in patients operated on for AOH with or without APL.

Effect of ovariectomy on intraosseous vascularization and bone remodelling in rats: action of tiludronate.

In order to study the action of tiludronate on the changes in intraosseous vascularization induced by ovariectomy, and to link these effects to those observed in bone remodelling, 30 female Sprague-Dawley rats (age 40 weeks) were studied. Ten rats were shamoperated and treated by vehicle, 10 rats were ovariectomized and treated by vehicle, and 10 rats were ovariectomized and treated orally with tiludronate, 0.16 mmol/kg/per day, 3 days a week for 16 weeks, from the day following ovariectomy.

Study of the intraosseous vessels of the femoral head in patients with fractures of the femoral neck or osteoarthritis of the hip.

Bearing in mind earlier studies which established a link between arteriosclerosis and mineral loss, or fragility of the bones, and also our recent study showing that patients with arterial disorders of the lower limbs also suffered from osteoporosis, we carried out a histological study of the number and appearance of the intraosseous vessels and trabecular bone volume in the femoral heads of patients undergoing surgery for either fracture of the femoral neck or osteoarthritis of the hip. The number of thick-walled vessels, arterioles or arterial capillaries was significantly diminished in the femoral heads of patients with fractures of the femoral neck (p = 0.007).