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No association between hip geometry and genes

by Martina Contin — last modified 2009-03-17 15:13

A paper recently published on Calcified International by a group of researchers at the University of Southern Denmark shows that the geometric dimensions of the proximal femur in perimenopausal women are not associated with four polymorphisms in genes known to correlate with increased fracture incidence and/or reduced bone mineral density (BMD). The genetic contribution to the risk of osteoporosis does not seem to be mediated by the anatomic risk factors.

Researchers at the Department of Endocrinology, Odense University Hospital, University of Southern Denmark investigated a group of 800 healthy recently perimenopausal women never using hormone replacement therapy.  In each subject a fully DXA exam of the hip region was performed, so as to measure BMD of the femoral neck, femoral neck axis length, neck width, neck shaft angle, and femoral head diameter.  In addtion in each subject was investigated the presence of polymorphisms in the genes those coding for methylene-tetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR c.677C > T), the purinergic P2X(7) receptor (Glu496Ala and Ile568Asn), and the low-density lipoprotein receptor-related protein 5 (LRP5 exon 9 [c.266A > G]).  The study, published in Calcified International on line ahead of print, found that no significant differences between homozygotes for the minor allele and carriers of the common allele regarding parameters of hip geometry were demonstrated; it thus concludes that “the geometric dimensions of the proximal femur in perimenopausal women are not associated with the […] polymorphisms.   The full paper can be found here: http://www.springerlink.com/content/k21l5966841q2tg6/.

 

This result confirm the approach of VPHOP for the determination of the patient-specific risk of fracture by using physics-based multiscale modelling, where it is possible to account both for genetic and environmental determinants.

 

These are additional information we use in many press releases; add and remove according their relevance to the news item we have created.

 
  •   VPHOP is a Collaborative Integrated Project that is developing simulation-based technology to predict the risk of bone fracture in osteoporosis patients. Co-funded by the European Commission as part of the Seventh Framework Program. The project runs for four years starting from September 2008. Coordinated by Rizzoli Orthopaedic Institute, the Project Consortium gathers 19 European Organisations based in Italy, The Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, Belgium, France, United Kingdom, Sweden, and Iceland.
  •   Rizzoli Orthopaedic Institute is the most famous Italian research hospital for musculoskeletal diseases.  Located in Bologna, Rizzoli is a public institution, funded by the Emilia Romagna region and the Italian Ministry of Welfare. The excellent clinical units, where more than 150,000 patients are treated every year, are well integrated with nine internationally recognised research laboratories. Over 250 researchers trained as engineers, biologists, physicists, and medical doctors conduct strongly interdisciplinary research on musculoskeletal diseases, with particular attention to the transfer of results to the clinical practice.
  • Marco Viceconti is the coordinator of the VPHOP integrated project, a large European research consortium that is developing simulation-based technology for predicting the risk of bone fracture in osteoporosis patients. Since 1989 he works at the Rizzoli Orthopaedic Institute where he is currently the Technical Director of the Medical Technology Lab. He is also the Director of the BioComputing Competence Centre.

 

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