High turnover osteoporosis in acro-osteolysis (Hajdu-Cheney syndrome)

Abstract

Acro-osteolysis with diffuse osteoporosis in the absence of other associated diseases is named Hajdu-Cheney syndrome. Reduced bone formation rather than enhanced bone resorption has been indicated as the mechanism of osteoporosis. On the assumption that in this syndrome the active bone resorption which produces distal osteolysis must also predominate in generalized osteoporosis, we investigated bone histology, calcium kinetics, calciotropic hormones and bone markers in a patient suffering from sporadic Hajdu-Cheney syndrome. A radius bone biopsy taken far from the osteolytic lesions showed severe osteoporosis with a marked increase in osteoclastic bone resorption and reduced bone formation. Total body calcium clearance, performed through an analysis of the kinetics of calcium infusion, was 2.8 times higher than in normal controls, indicating the presence of active osteoclastic bone resorption. Serum parathormone, 1,25-dihydroxycholecalciferol, alkaline phosphatase and urinary hydroxiproline were in the normal range. These data indicate that in Hajdu-Cheney syndrome trabecular osteoporosis is produced by the same mechanism that induces distal osteolysis, which suggests that it may be sustained by local acting factors stimulating osteoclastic resorption.