| Sub-title | |
| Authors | Y Muscat Baron M P Brincat R Galea N Calleja |
| Abstract | Objective: To assess Intervertebral Disc Height in postmenopausal women with radiographically confirmed vertebral fractures. Methods: Two hundred and fifty seven women were collected randomly from a large directory in a data base of a bone density unit. Every fifth woman in the directory was recruited from the DEXA directory. The image of the vertebral spine on the computer screen was sought for the women recruited. The adjustment mode was then employed allowing the horizontal cursors to be placed at the edges of the vertebral discs between the tenth thoracic vertebra Results: 257 Women were divided in five groups according to the menopausal/menstrual status. Forty seven (47) menopausal women were on HRT , 77 women were untreated menopausal women, 21 women were on bisphosphonates, 30 women were on calcium supplements, 44 women were premenopausal and 38 women had confirmed vertebral fractures. Age and weight difference were noted across groups and statistical. The vertebral fracture group was noted to have the lowest disc height (1.57±SD 0.1cm) of the 3 discs D1 - D3. The D1 - D3 disc height in the HRT and premenopausal groups were similar (2.15±01.14 cm) and (2.01±0.19cm) respectively. The disc heights in the other three groups (Calcium 1.77±0.08, Untreated menopausal group 1.82±0.12cm, Bisphosphonates 1.88±0.12cm) were significantly lower than the oestrogen replete groups but were significantly higher than the osteoporotic vertebral fractures group. Conclusion: Postmenopausal women with vertebral fractures have significantly low disc heights. The disc heights are significantly lower then untreated and HRT treated/premenopausal women. These results suggests that the discoid shape and viscoelastic properties of the intervertebral discs may be relevant to the genesis of osteoporotic vertebral fractures. |
Published in: | |
| Journal | Malta Medical Journal |
| Volume | 18 Supplement |
| Page | |
| Date | 01/12/2006 |
| Link to journal | |
| Key words | intervertebral disc, menopause, osteoporosis |