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Absorptiometric assessment of muscle-bone relationships in humans: reference, validation, and application studies

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Abstract

This report summarizes some preliminary absorptiometric (DXA, QCT/pQCT) studies from our laboratory, supporting the following assumptions. 1. InHomo sapiens at all ages, natural proportionality between DXA-assessed bone mineral mass (bone mineral content, BMC) and muscle mass (lean mass, LM) of the whole body or limbs is specific for ethnicity, gender, and reproductive status, but not for body weight, height, or body mass index. 2. This proportionality is sensitive to many kinds of endocrine-metabolic perturbations. 3. Percentilized or Z-scored charts of the BMC/LM correlations as determined in large samples of healthy individuals can provide a diagnostic reference for evaluating proportionality in different conditions. 4. Employing exclusively DXA, this methodology can be applied to discriminate between “disuse-related” and “metabolic” osteopenias based on the finding of normal or low BMC/LM percentiles or Z-scores respectively, with important therapeutic and monitoring implications.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for P-Ca Metabolism Studies (CEMFoC), National University of Rosario, Rosario, Argentina

    Gustavo R. Cointry, Ricardo F. Capozza, Sebastián E. Ferretti, Sara Feldman, Ricardo Capiglioni, Paola Reina, Néstor M. Fracalossi & José L. Ferretti

  2. Department of Radiology, University of California-San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA

    Margarita D. Meta

  3. Centro de Estudios de Osteopatías Metabólicas (CEOM), Córdoba, Argentina

    María R. Ulla

  4. Universidad Metropolitana de Barranquilla, Colombia

    Carlos Cure-Cure

Authors
  1. Gustavo R. Cointry
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  2. Ricardo F. Capozza
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  3. Sebastián E. Ferretti
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  4. Margarita D. Meta
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  5. Sara Feldman
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  6. Ricardo Capiglioni
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  7. Paola Reina
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  8. Néstor M. Fracalossi
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  9. María R. Ulla
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  10. Carlos Cure-Cure
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  11. José L. Ferretti
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to José L. Ferretti.

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Cointry, G.R., Capozza, R.F., Ferretti, S.E. et al. Absorptiometric assessment of muscle-bone relationships in humans: reference, validation, and application studies. J Bone Miner Metab 23 (Suppl 1), 109–114 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03026334

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03026334

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