Increasing Bone Mass and Bone Strength in Individuals with Chronic Spinal Cord Injury: Maximizing Response to Therapy
Abstract
The overall objective of this research is to determine the optimal approach to enhancing and maintaining bone mass and bone strength in people with chronic SCI. Our previous research showed that teriparatide treatment results in an increase in bone mass in people with SCI. We hypothesized that initiating subsequent treatment with alendronate will further increase bone mass and bone strength. In this study, 17 participants recently completing teriparatide therapy were treated with open-label oral alendronate for one year and evaluated with bone imaging (DXA and CT scanning) and serum bone markers at 6 monthly intervals. Alendronate treatment prevented bone loss with significant increase in DXA BMD at the spine but not the hip; CT derived bone parameters increased at skeletal sites around the knee. FE modeling of cadaver specimens was able to predict stiffness and strength of both the proximal tibia and distal femur under complex biaxial loading, sufficient to stratify individuals into risk categories based on predicted strength or to assess longitudinal effects of intervention.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jul 01, 2019
- Accession Number
- AD1082018
Entities
People
- Thomas J Schnitzer
Organizations
- Northwestern University