[Bone mineral density in children with osteogenesis imperfecta].
OBJECTIVE
Osteogenesis imperfecta is the term used for a group of disorders of collagen synthesis which cause increased bone fragility. The aim of our study was to evaluate the BMD in patients with OI.


METHODS
We used dual-energy x ray absorptiometry, Hologic QDR 4500W (DEXA), to compare the bone mineral density (BMD) of 8 patients aged from 3 years to 20 years who had osteogenesis imperfecta with an age and sex matched control group.


RESULTS
DEXA detected highly significant differences in BMD respecting control group. The mean BMD in the patients with osteogenesis imperfecta was 62.6 % of normal in lumbar spine (p < 0.01) and 63.01 % of normal in the femoral neck (p < 0.01) using Wilcoxon test.


CONCLUSIONS
DEXA is an objective, reproductible and sensitive method of measurement of BMD in children. It may help to stablish the diagnosis, to asses prognosis and possibly to monitor the response to different types of treatment.
Alvarez
R
R
U.D. Medicina Nuclear. Hospital Universitario Virgen del Rocío. Sevilla. Spain. rosalvarezp@hotmail.com
García
R
R
Luis
J
J
López
J
J
Gutiérrez
A
A
González
M
M
del Río
L
L
Aguilera
F
F
Vázquez
R
R
D015502:Absorptiometry, Photon; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D015519:Bone Density; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D005272:Femur Neck / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D006801:Humans; D008159:Lumbar Vertebrae / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D008297:Male; D010013:Osteogenesis Imperfecta / Q000473:pathology*; D011877:Radionuclide Imaging