Low bone mineral density is associated to poor glycemic control and increased OPG expression in children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes.

Aims: To investigate early alterations on bone mineral density (BMD) and RANK, RANKL and OPG mRNA expression in peripheral blood leukocytes (PBL) in children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes (T1D) and the relationship with glycemic control and bone biomarkers.

Methods: This cross-sectional study included 75 children and adolescents with T1D and 100 individuals without diabetes (normoglycemic-NG) aged 6-20 years old. T1D individuals were considered to have good (T1DG) or poor (T1DP) glycemic control according to the values of HbA1c.

Osteopenia: a bone disorder associated with diabetes mellitus.

Although osteopenia has been associated with human diabetes mellitus, the pathogenesis of diabetic osteopenia is unclear. In the present study, we evaluated the effect of diabetes on histomorphometry, bone mineral density (BMD)-measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA)-and biomarkers of bone metabolism in rats up to 120 days after the onset of experimental diabetes. Female Wistar rats with a regular estrous cycle were randomly divided into two groups: control rats (n = 15) and diabetic rats without insulin treatment (n = 25).