Choi YJ. Endocrinol Metab. 2016 Mar;31(1):25-30. http://dx.doi.org/10.3803/EnM.2016.31.1.25

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a risk factor for bone fragility, and its effect on fracture risk is independent of bone mineral density (BMD). The trabecular bone score (TBS) is a new indirect parameter of bone quality. In this study, BMD and the TBS were compared between female postmenopausal RA patients with and those without vertebral fractures (VFs). This study had a cross-sectional design. Two hundred seventy-nine postmenopausal women with RA aged 50 years or older were included in this study. TBS measurements were performed on the same vertebrae as those for the BMD measurements. Among the 279 subjects, 34 had VFs (12.5%). There was a significant difference in the TBS (P = .005) but not L-spine BMD (P = .142) between the subjects with and those without VFs. The odds ratio (OR) for the TBS per standard deviation decrease was significant, even after adjusting for confounding factors such as age, height, rheumatoid factor positivity, the disease activity score for 28 joints (DAS28), the cumulative dose of glucocorticoids (GCs), the time since menopause and osteoporosis drug use (OR = 2.86; 95% CI, 1.34–6.09), and L-spine BMD (OR = 2.57; 95% CI, 1.19–5.54). The TBS was negatively correlated with the cumulative dose of GCs, but not with the DAS28 or erythrocyte sedimentation rate. However, the correlation was an L-shaped nonlinear relationship. The TBS could be a supplementary tool for discriminating osteoporotic fractures in postmenopausal women with RA, and it may have a nonlinear relationship with the cumulative dose of GCs, but not with RA disease activity.

Early prevention of sarcopenia could be an important strategy for muscle retention, but most studies have focused on subjects aged 65 or older. Therefore, in this study we investigated the effects of leucine-enriched protein supplementation on muscle condition in a sample including late middle-aged adults. A 12-week intervention was performed for 120 healthy community-dwelling adults by providing either leucine-enriched protein supplement [protein 20g(casein 50%+ whey 40%+ soy 10%, total leucine 3000 mg), vitamin D 800IU(20 ug), calcium 300 mg, fat 1.1 g, carbohydrate 2.5 g] or isocaloric carbohydrate supplement twice per day. Appendicular skeletal muscle mass (ASM) and lean body mass (LBM) were measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. A total of 111 participants completed the study, with a dropout rate of 9.2%. LBM normalized by body weight (LBM/Wt) was significantly increased (p < 0.001) in the intervention group (0 wk: 63.38 ± 0.85 vs. 12 wk 63.68 ± 0.83 in the intervention group; 0 wk: 63.85 ± 0.82 vs. 12 wk: 63.29 ± 0.81 in the control group). In subgroup analyses, significant differences remained only in subjects between 50 and 64 years of age. We concluded that leucine-enriched protein supplementation can have beneficial effects by preventing muscle loss, mainly for late middle-aged adults.

Background: In the general population, the trabecular bone score (TBS) represents the bone microarchitecture and predicts fracture risk independent of bone mineral density (BMD). A few studies reported that TBS is significantly reduced in dialysis patients. Chronic kidney disease-mineral and bone disorder (CKD-MBD) are accompanied by increased fracture risk, cardiovascular morbidity, and mortality. We investigated whether TBS is associated with comorbidity related to CKD-MBD or frailty in hemodialysis patients. Methods: In this prospective observational study, TBS was obtained using the TBS iNsight software program (Med-Imaps) with BMD dual energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA) images (L1–L4) from prevalent hemodialysis patients. A Tilburg frailty indicator was used to evaluate frailty, and hand grip strength and bio-impedance (InBody) were measured. A patient-generated subjective global assessment (PG-SGA) was used for nutritional assessment. The history of cardiovascular events (CVE) and demographic, clinical, laboratory, and biomarker data were collated. We then followed up patients for the occurrence of CKD-MBD related complications. Results: We enrolled 57 patients in total. The mean age was 56.8 ± 15.9 years (50.9% female). Prevalence of Diabetes mellitus (DM) was 40.4% and CVE was 36.8%. Mean TBS was 1.44 ± 0.10. TBS significantly reduced in the CVE group (1.38 ± 0.08 vs. 1.48 ± 0.10, p < 0.001). Multivariable regression analysis was conducted adjusting for age, sex, dialysis vintage, DM, CVE, albumin, intact parathyroid hormone, fibroblast growth factor 23, handgrip strength, and phosphate binder dose. Age (ß = − 0.030; p = 0.001) and CVE (ß = − 0.055; p = 0.024) were significant predictors of TBS. During the follow up period after TBS measurements (about 20 months), four deaths, seven incident fractures, and six new onset CVE were recorded. Lower TBS was associated with mortality (p = 0.049) or new onset fracture (p = 0.007, by log-rank test). Conclusion: Lower TBS was independently associated with increased age and CVE prevalence in hemodialysis patients. Mortality and fracture incidence were significantly higher in patients with lower TBS values. These findings suggest that TBS may indicate a phenotype of frailty and also a CKD-MBD phenotype reciprocal to CVE.