title: Postmenopausal women with osteoporosis may be associated with high endothelin-1.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  We aimed to find out if there was any difference of the endothelin-1 (ET-1) and asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA) levels between osteoporotic and non-osteoporotic healthy postmenopausal women and whether there were any associations between ET-1 and ADMA levels and bone mineral density (BMD).
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 75 healthy postmenopausal women were enrolled in the study. BMD was measured at lumbar spine (LS) and femur neck (FN). Serum ET-1 and ADMA levels were measured by ELISA. In this population, 41 (54%) women had BMD t-scores > or = 2.5 at the LS and/or FN defined as osteoporosis and 34 (46%) of them had normal BMDs (non-osteoporotic group).
  
  
  RESULTS
  The mean value of ET-1 serum level in patients was 0.42 +/- 0.30, 0.28 +/- 0.12 fmol/ml in osteoporotic and non-osteoporotic groups, respectively (p = 0.018). In non-osteoporotic group, there was an only significant positive correlation was found between BMD (g/cm(2)) and total t-scores at the lumbar region and ET-1 level. In osteoporotic group, no correlation was found between BMD and total t-scores and ET-1 levels. Serum ADMA level was not significantly different between osteoporotic and non-osteoporotic postmenopausal women (p > 0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  ET-1 may be a physiologic regulator in non-osteoporotic healthy postmenopausal women. Osteoporotic postmenopausal women had higher ET-1 levels than non-osteoporotic postmenopausal women. ADMA seems not to have effect on bone in postmenopausal women.
authors.affiliation: Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Izmir Research and Training Hospital, Bozyaka, Izmir 35360, Turkey. drigulhan@yahoo.com
authors.forename: Ibrahim
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Gulhan
authors.forename: Levent
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Kebapcilar
authors.forename: Ahmet
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Alacacioglu
authors.forename: Sibel
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bilgili
authors.forename: Tuncay
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kume
authors.forename: Bilal
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Aytac
authors.forename: Rezzan
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Gunaydin
mesh_terms: D001120:Arginine / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000097:blood; D015519:Bone Density / Q000502:physiology; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D019332:Endothelin-1 / Q000097:blood*; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D015663:Osteoporosis, Postmenopausal / Q000097:blood*; D012044:Regression Analysis
chemical_list: D019332:Endothelin-1; C018524:N,N-dimethylarginine; D001120:Arginine