“Hip fracture is associated with high early mortality. Little is known about long-term survival and subsequent fracture risk. The aim of this study was to evaluate survival and fracture risk after hip fracture in women at different ages. All women suffering a hip fracture during 1984–1985 in Malmö, Sweden, were identified (n = 766) and followed up to 22 y or death. All new radiographic examinations related to musculoskeletal trauma with or without fracture were registered. Survival (mortality) and fracture was evaluated in 5-y age bands and in age groups (<75, 75–84, and >85 y)…” Read the rest of this issue.

Please note that the Osteoscoop website has been completely revamped, and a special mobile version is now available for iPhone users : www.osteoscoop.com

The following kits of SERVIER MEDICAL ART, our online medical image bank to help you illustrate your Powerpoint presentations, have been updated:

• Paraclinical exams
• Risk factors
• Medical equipments
• Medical acts
• Bone fractures
• Veins
• People

SERVIER MEDICAL ART is available at www.servier.com.

Recent studies have indicated a link between bone metabolism and cardiovascular events in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). CKD is a major health problem worldwide. This study [1] evaluates the role of noninvasive markers of bone metabolism in predicting cardiovascular morbidity (coronary artery disease, peripheral vascular disease, stroke) and mortality in patients with mild to severe forms of CKD. In a prospective cohort study, 627 patients with CKD were screened… Read the rest of this issue.

Mending the Broken Heart, the new online issue of Dialogues in Cardiovascular Medicine, is available online at www.dialogues-cvm.org.

“When David Hearse and Roberto Ferrari invited me to edit this issue and to contribute one of the articles I had mixed feelings. While the title proposed suggests a romantic paperback novel, the subject matter it incorporates is potentially groundbreaking: arguably, gene and cell therapies are fields that will apply to much of cardiovascular and other medical therapeutics in the future.

The beginnings have been rocky, especially with regard to gene therapy. This largely reflects the toxicity of viral vectors used in the initial gene therapies that were administered to patients. Cell therapy has had a more successful beginning, first appearing on the scene in 1956. In that year, E. Donnall Thomas obtained long-term survival by transplanting bone marrow into a patient with leukemia. Since that time both the efficacy and safety of bone marrow transplant have been documented and detailed for the treatment of certain cancers and immunodeficiency diseases. Obviously there are toxicities and shortcomings, but the life-saving nature of the therapy is unquestionable. And this history has provided assurance to subsequent investigators studying marrowderived cells, assurance that the cells they deliver to patients likely will cause no harm. Important with regard to the safety issue is that in most instances the cells administered have been autologous…” Read the rest of this editorial.

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Calorie restriction is promoted to increase longevity, yet this regimen could lead to bone loss and fracture, and therefore affect quality of life. In a recent study [1], 46 individuals were randomized to 4 groups for 6 months: (1) healthy diet (control group); (2) 25% calorie restriction from baseline energy requirements (CR group); (3) 25% energy deficit by a combination of CR and increased aerobic exercise (CR+EX group); and (4) low-calorie diet (890 kcal/d; goal, 15% weight loss) followed by weight maintenance (LCD group)… Read the rest of this issue.

Bone mineral density (BMD) is a dynamic variable and is known to decline with advancing age. Although it has been shown that either low BMD or the greater the difference between two measurements in BMD is associated with all-cause mortality in women, it is not known whether the rate of BMD loss contributes to mortality risk independent of baseline BMD. Furthermore, the associations between BMD and bone loss and mortality in men have not been studied. Body weight is strongly related to BMD, such that higher weight is associated with higher BMD and reduced fracture risk. Although it was suggested that weight loss and weight fluctuation are associated with an increased risk of mortality, it is unknown whether the effect of weight loss or weight fluctuation on mortality is independent of baseline BMD and rate of bone loss… Read the rest of this issue.

“Child and adolescent psychiatry”, the new issue of Dialogues in Clinical Neuroscience, is available online at www.dialogues-cns.org.

“The fact that we have devoted an issue of Dialogues in Clinical Neuroscience to child and ado- lescent psychiatry reflects the fact that this is an area of psychiatry with features that differentiate it from that of young and older adults. Indeed, we are able to note that, though the great majority of symptoms remain the same throughout the different age groups, they are organized differently, and in this way lead to syndromes with different patterns. Moreover, the circumstances of onset, the triggering mechanisms, the reinforcing factors, and the types of therapeutic strategies used also set a particular tone for child and adolescent psychiatric semiology, and bestow certain features upon it. Finally, some classes of symptoms, though not entirely absent in adults, are nevertheless more characteristic of children or adolescents; for example, attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder, some types of sleep disturbances (nightmares, sleepwalking, sleep epilepsy, bruxism), anorexia nervosa, etc… Read the rest of the issue”

Full table of contents.

X-linked hypophosphatemia (XLH) is the archetypal vitamin D–resistant disease in humans, and the most common form of inherited rickets, with an incidence of approximately 1 in 20 000 live births. The disease is characterized by renal phosphate (Pi) wasting with resulting hypophosphatemia, abnormal vitamin D metabolism, defective bone and cartilage mineralization, dentine defects, and stunted growth. Recently, the gene involved in the pathogenesis of XLH was identified and designated as PHEX (the phosphate-regulating gene with homologies to endopeptidases on the X chromosome). The murine homolog of the human disease, the hyp-mouse, has a phenotype identical to that evident in patients with XLH, and is due to a large deletion in the 3′ region of the Phex gene… Read the rest of this Osteoscoop issue.

Congestive heart failure caused by left ventricular (LV) systolic dysfunction in coronary heart disease (CHD) patiens is at present a common health problem with an unfavorable outlook for patients.

Besides complex pharmacotherapy, cellular therapy mainly using stem cells was also repeatedly tested. In most studies, it provided slight improvement of LV systolic function with mild elevation of ejection fraction.

Autologous skeletal muscle myoblasts (SMM) are an alternative to stem cells in therapeutic attempts. After the pioneering work of Menasché and collegues in 2001, SMM were used repeatedly, by the same working group as well as by various other authors, in studies involving 10 to 97 patients. Histological analyses of explanted hearts after SMM implantation demonstrated formation of viable groups of transplanted cells. Thus, at present it is clear that SMM may be delivered to failing LV with good outlook for their survival… Read the rest of this European Cardiologist Journal by Fax issue.

The association between increased risk of hip fracture and low vitamin D status has long been recognized. However, the level of vitamin D required to maintain bone strength is controversial. In this study[1], the authors used a rodent model of vitamin D depletion to quantify the 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25D) levels required for normal mineralization. Six groups of 10-wk-old male Sprague-Dawley rats (n = 42) were fed a diet containing 0.4% calcium and various levels of dietary vitamin D3 for 4 months to achieve stable mean serum 25D levels ranging between 10 and 115 nmol/L. At 7 months of age, animals were killed, and the histomorphometry of distal and proximal femora and L2 vertebra was analyzed. Total RNA was extracted from whole femora for real-time RT-PCR analyses… Read the rest of this issue.