Clinical correlations between chronic hepatitis C infection and decreasing bone mass density after treatment with interferon-alpha

Objective: To compare the bone mass density in chronic hepatitis patients before and after interferon-a treatment.Methods: A total of 70 patients with chronic hepatitis C were treated with interferon-a and were evaluated. The treatment dosage was three million IU three times a week for one year. All the patients underwent bone mass density detection at lumbar spine and femoral neck before and after the interferon-a treatment. All the necessary information such as age,sex, and laboratory test, history of occurrence of fractures, lifestyle, and menopause status was collected by interviewers face-to-face from participants at the research visit. Smoking was categorized by whether participants were nonsmokers or smokers. Menopause was designated if there had been complete cessation of menses for more than 12 months. All statistical analyses were performed by SPSS version 14(SPSS, Inc., Chicago, IL, USA).Results: Among 70 patients, 52% were male, 48% were female and the mean age was(57.0 ± 9.6) years(range: 24–79). Twenty-nine percent of the patients had a history of smoking. The mean body mass index was(24.4 ± 3.6) kg/m^2(range: 18.4–35.3). Of the70 cases, 21 had high fibrosis-4. The prevalence of overall fracture history was 2.9%(two patients).Conclusions: Chronic hepatitis C virus infection did increase the risk of development of metabolic bone disease in this cohort. Indeed, greater reduction of bone mass density occurs in advanced liver fibrosis. The bone loss in earlier stages of chronic hepatitis C infection is likely to result from increased bone reduction rather than decreased bone formation. Overall, these observations suggest an important role for chronic hepatitis C virus infection in increased bone turnover in osteodystrophy pathogenesis.

Salmon calcitonin in prevention of osteoporosis in maintenance dialysis patients

Background Renal osteodystrophy is one of the commonest complications of chronic renal failure. It may have a severe impact on the quality of life of patients on maintenance dialysis therapy. Besides post-menopausal women and elderly people, the dialysis patients are another high risk group. But at present, there is no research on how to prevent osteoporosis in maintenance dialysis patients. This study was conducted to observe the bone density of maintenance dialysis patients and to evaluate the clinical outcomes and safety of different administration dosage of salmon calcitonin to prevent osteoporosis in maintenance dialysis patients. Methods One hundred and forty-eight patients on maintenance dialysis were involved in the 12-month, randomized, controlled trial. Fifty patients （experiment I group） received subcutaneous injection of salmon calcitonin （50 U） three times a week for 12 months. Fifty patients （experiment II group） received subcutaneous injection of salmon calcitonin （100 U） three times a week for 12 months. At the same time, both of them received oral calcium carbonate 1500 mg tid and rocaltrol 0.25 pg qn for 12 months. The control group only received oral calcium carbonate 1500 mg tid and rocaltrol 0.25 μg qn for 12 months. The levels of bone mass density （BMD） of the lumbar spine and femoral neck, serum intact parathyroid hormone （iPTH）, osteocalcin （OC）, calcium, phosphorus, alkaline phosphatase （ALP） were assessed at baseline and then again after 3, 6 and 12 months of treatment. Results The values of BMD at the lumbar spine and femoral neck before the treatment were not significantly different from those 3, 6, and 12 months after the treatment in trial groups I and II （all P 〉0.05） and there were no significant differences in the BMD values at different time points between trial groups I and II. In the control group, the BMD values at the lumbar spine and femoral neck 3, 6, and 12 months after the beginning of trial were significantly lower than those before the trial, and significantly lower than the corresponding values of trial groups I and II （all P 〈0.05）. The serum OC 3, 6, and 12 months after the treatment was significantly lower than that before the experiment （all P 〈0.05） in the control group. However, there was no significant difference in the value of serum OC before and 3, 6, and 12 months after the treatment in trial groups land II （all P 〉0.05）. Conclusions The dose of salmon calcitonin 50 U three times a week plus calcium carbonate and active vitamin D can effectively preserve the BMD and prevent bone loss in maintenance dialysis patients, and it is well tolerated by patients on maintenance dialysis.