title: Gender differences in serum markers of bone resorption in healthy subjects and patients with disorders affecting bone.
abstract: To assess how two different serum markers of bone resorption may reflect changes in bone turnover, we compared age- and sex-related changes in serum C-terminal telopeptide of type I collagen (betaCTx) and tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase activity (TRAP) in 136 healthy men and 184 normal women. Serum levels of the two markers were also assessed in several groups of patients of both sexes presenting with the most common metabolic and endocrine bone diseases: established osteoporosis (n = 77), primary hyperparathyroidism (n = 44), glucocorticoid excess (n = 17), chronic renal failure (n = 39), active Paget's disease of bone (n = 5), humoral hypercalcemia of malignancy (n = 3), osteomalacia (n = 3), hyperthyroidism (n = 10), post-surgical hypoparathyroidism (n = 10), acromegaly (active disease, n = 8) and Cushing's syndrome (n = 10). In men the regression of betaCTx with age showed an initial decrease in bone resorption followed by an increase thereafter, starting from the sixth decade of life. No age-related change in serum TRAP activity was observed. In women, by contrast, a slight but significant linear correlation of both serum betaCTx and TRAP with age (r = 0.223, p<0.003 and r = 0.333, p<0.0001, respectively) was found, the two markers being positively correlated (r = 0.238, p<0.002). In each class of patients the mean Z-scores of betaCTx were significantly higher than those of TRAP activity. Moreover, compared with normal subjects, serum betaCTx seems to be characterized by a superior sensitivity relative to TRAP measurement, at least in the disorders studied.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Sciences, University of Rome La Sapienza, Italy. salvatore.minisola@uniroma1.it
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Minisola
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Dionisi
authors.forename: M T
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Pacitti
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Paglia
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Carnevale
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Scillitani
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mazzaferro
authors.forename: Geronimo S
authors.initials: GS
authors.lastname: De
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Pepe
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Derasmo
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Romagnoli
mesh_terms: D000135:Acid Phosphatase / Q000097:blood*; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging / Q000097:blood; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D001847:Bone Diseases / Q000097:blood*; D001849:Bone Diseases, Endocrine / Q000097:blood; D001851:Bone Diseases, Metabolic / Q000097:blood; D001862:Bone Resorption / Q000097:blood; D003094:Collagen / Q000097:blood*; D024042:Collagen Type I; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007527:Isoenzymes / Q000097:blood*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010455:Peptides / Q000097:blood*; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D000071681:Tartrate-Resistant Acid Phosphatase
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D024042:Collagen Type I; D007527:Isoenzymes; D010455:Peptides; C052929:collagen type I trimeric cross-linked peptide; D003094:Collagen; D000135:Acid Phosphatase; D000071681:Tartrate-Resistant Acid Phosphatase