title: Correlation between a bone resorption marker and structural geometry of the proximal femur in osteoporotic women treated with raloxifene.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess correlations between a bone resorption marker and the structural geometry of the proximal femur in raloxifene-treated postmenopausal women with osteoporosis.
  
  
  METHODS
  45 postmenopausal, osteoporotic women aged 57 to 79 (mean, 67) years underwent raloxifene treatment (60 mg/day) for 12 months. Serum type-I collagen crosslinked N-telopeptide (sNTX) as the bone resorption marker was measured at baseline and 6 months, whereas hip structure analysis (HSA) parameters of the femur (neck, intertrochanter, and shaft) were measured at baseline and 12 months using dual energy X-ray absorptiometry. The HSA parameters included areal bone mineral density (BMD), inner diameter, mean cortical thickness, cross-sectional area, section modulus, and buckling ratio. Correlations between sNTX and HSA parameters were analysed using Pearson's R.
  
  
  RESULTS
  At baseline, sNTX correlated inversely with BMD, cross-sectional area, mean cortical thickness, and section modulus, and positively with buckling ratio in the intertrochanter and shaft (but not the neck). These correlations were significant both crude and adjusted for age. After 12 months of raloxifene treatment, HSA parameters improved significantly for the intertrochanter and shaft only. Of the 3 femoral sites, only the change in sNTX at month 6 correlated positively with changes in the inner diameter at the intertrochanter at month 12 (r=0.303, p=0.045 adjusted for age). Changes in sNTX did not correlate with changes in any other parameters.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The surrogate markers for hip fracture including sNTX, BMD, and HSA parameters correlated significantly with each other. Improvement (decrease) of sNTX indicated reduction in bone resorption.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Sapporo Medical University, Sapporo, Japan. jtakada@kitago-ortho.com
authors.forename: Junichi
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Takada
authors.forename: Kousuke
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Iba
authors.forename: Takashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yoshizaki
authors.forename: Toshihiko
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yamashita
mesh_terms: D015502:Absorptiometry, Photon; D000368:Aged; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D015519:Bone Density; D050071:Bone Density Conservation Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001862:Bone Resorption / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis*; D024042:Collagen Type I / Q000097:blood; D005260:Female; D005269:Femur / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D015663:Osteoporosis, Postmenopausal / Q000097:blood / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology; D010455:Peptides / Q000097:blood; D020849:Raloxifene Hydrochloride / Q000627:therapeutic use*
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D050071:Bone Density Conservation Agents; D024042:Collagen Type I; D010455:Peptides; C052929:collagen type I trimeric cross-linked peptide; D020849:Raloxifene Hydrochloride