Prognostic clinical and molecular biomarkers of renal disease in type 2 diabetes.

Diabetic kidney disease occurs in ∼ 25-40% of patients with type 2 diabetes. Given the high risk of progressive renal function loss and end-stage renal disease, early identification of patients with a renal risk is important. Novel biomarkers may aid in improving renal risk stratification.

Biomarkers of bone turnover in diagnosis and therapy of osteoporosis: a consensus advice from an Austrian working group.

Aim: Reasonable application of laboratory parameters in prevention, diagnosis, treatment and therapy monitoring of osteoporosis.

Target Groups: Physicians from different specialist disciplines (general medicine, geriatrics, gynaecology, urology, internal medicine-especially endocrinology and metabolism, nephrology, laboratory medicine, rheumatology, nuclear medicine, orthopaedics, paediatrics, rehabilitation and physical medicine, radiology, social medicine, transplantation medicine, accident surgery), moreover social insurances, hospitals and self-help groups.

Background: Evaluation of aetiology of bone disorders, widening of the therapeutic spectrum for diseases of bone and knowledge on biochemical markers of bone turnover.

Serum sclerostin levels decline in post-menopausal women with osteoporosis following treatment with intermittent parathyroid hormone.

Objective: This study was carried out in order to evaluate the effect of 18-month treatment with PTH (1-34) or PTH (1-84) on serum sclerostin levels in humans.

Subjects And Methods: We investigated 10 women with severe osteoporosis, previously treated with alendronate and 20 untreated osteoporotic women. Subjects with severe osteoporosis were randomly divided into 2 groups of 5 patients each; the first group was treated with 20 μg of PTH (1-34) and the second one with 100 μg of PTH (1-84) according to an open-label design.

Serum sclerostin levels positively correlate with lumbar spinal bone mineral density in postmenopausal women--the six-month effect of risedronate and teriparatide.

Unlabelled: Sclerostin is expressed by osteocytes and inhibits bone formation by osteoblasts. In this study, serum sclerostin was positively correlated with either lumbar spinal bone mineral density or T-score. Furthermore, serum sclerostin was increased after 6 months treatment with risedronate, whereas remained unchanged after 6 months teriparatide treatment.

High cathepsin K levels in men with differentiated thyroid cancer on suppressive L-thyroxine therapy.

Background: Thyroid hormone administration is associated with low bone density in some studies. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the influence L-thyroxine, in doses used to treat patients with a history of thyroid carcinoma, on serum cathepsin K and other markers of bone metabolism. Cathepsin K is thought to have a role in osteoclast mediated bone resorption.