The high bone mass phenotype is characterised by increased subcutaneous and intra-muscular fat, but decreased marrow fat

Abstract

Event Abstract Back to Event The high bone mass phenotype is characterised by increased subcutaneous and intra-muscular fat, but decreased marrow fat CL Gregson1*, A Sayers1, SA Steel2, V Lazar2, J Rittweger3 and JH Tobias1 1 University of Bristol, Musculoskeletal Research Unit, School of Clinical Sciences, United Kingdom 2 Hull Royal Infirmary, United Kingdom 3 German Aerospace Center, Institute of Aerospace Medicine, Germany In our unique case-control study of High Bone Mass (HBM), cases were found to have greater total body fat mass and lower platelet levels compared to controls. To explore inter-relationships between fat, bone and bone marrow suggested by these results, we aimed to characterise adipose tissue distribution in HBM individuals using a novel application of tibial pQCT.{BR}196 HBM index cases were identified by screening a hospital DXA database (n=105,333). HBM was defined as a) L1 Z-score of 3.2 or more and total hip Z-score of 1.2 or more, or b) total hip Z-score 3.2 or more. Cases with significant osteoarthritis and/or other causes of raised BMD were excluded. Relatives and spouses were recruited, in whom HBM affection status was defined as L1 Z plus total hip Z-scores of 3.2 or more. Controls comprised unaffected relatives and spouses. pQCT was performed at the tibial diaphysis (66% of its length), using a Stratec XCT2000L. Cases were compared with controls using linear regression, adjusting for age, gender, height and menopausal status.{BR}98 HBM cases (71 index, 27 affected relatives) & 65 controls (43 unaffected relatives, 22 spouses) underwent pQCT; 81.6% & 50.8% were female, mean age 58 & 55 years, height 167 & 171 cm, weight 86 & 82 kg respectively; all Caucasian. As shown in the table, compared with controls, HBM cases had 22% more intra-muscular fat and considerably greater calf muscle and subcutaneous fat areas; however, marrow cavity area was reduced at the expense of marrow fat rather than haemopoietic tissue. Interestingly, after further adjustment for body weight, HBM cases still had greater intra-muscular fat than controls (mean difference [95% CI], 1.79 [0.22, 3.37]cm2, p=0.025) and marrow results remained unchanged.{BR}In summary, HBM individuals have greater subcutaneous and intra-muscular fat tissue, whilst in contrast marrow fat is reduced, possibly reflecting a mechanism to maintain haemopoietic function within the reduced marrow cavity of HBM long bones. Whether increased intra-muscular fat in HBM cases has a detrimental effect upon muscle function, so explaining the reduction in exercise tolerance previously observed amongst HBM cases, remains to be determined. Keywords: Bones, Bone Research Conference: 2011 joint meeting of the Bone Research Society & the British Orthopaedic Research Society, Cambridge, United Kingdom, 27 Jun - 29 Jun, 2011. Presentation Type: Oral Topic: Abstracts Citation: Gregson C, Sayers A, Steel S, Lazar V, Rittweger J and Tobias J (2011). The high bone mass phenotype is characterised by increased subcutaneous and intra-muscular fat, but decreased marrow fat. Front. Endocrinol. Conference Abstract: 2011 joint meeting of the Bone Research Society & the British Orthopaedic Research Society. doi: 10.3389/conf.fendo.2011.02.00025 Copyright: The abstracts in this collection have not been subject to any Frontiers peer review or checks, and are not endorsed by Frontiers. They are made available through the Frontiers publishing platform as a service to conference organizers and presenters. The copyright in the individual abstracts is owned by the author of each abstract or his/her employer unless otherwise stated. Each abstract, as well as the collection of abstracts, are published under a Creative Commons CC-BY 4.0 (attribution) licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) and may thus be reproduced, translated, adapted and be the subject of derivative works provided the authors and Frontiers are attributed. For Frontiers’ terms and conditions please see https://www.frontiersin.org/legal/terms-and-conditions. Received: 30 Sep 2011; Published Online: 30 Sep 2011. * Correspondence: Dr. CL Gregson, University of Bristol, Musculoskeletal Research Unit, School of Clinical Sciences, Bristol, United Kingdom, celia.gregson@bristol.ac.uk Login Required This action requires you to be registered with Frontiers and logged in. To register or login click here. Abstract Info Abstract The Authors in Frontiers CL Gregson A Sayers SA Steel V Lazar J Rittweger JH Tobias Google CL Gregson A Sayers SA Steel V Lazar J Rittweger JH Tobias Google Scholar CL Gregson A Sayers SA Steel V Lazar J Rittweger JH Tobias PubMed CL Gregson A Sayers SA Steel V Lazar J Rittweger JH Tobias Related Article in Frontiers Google Scholar PubMed Abstract Close Back to top Javascript is disabled. Please enable Javascript in your browser settings in order to see all the content on this page.