Clinical and biochemical features of metabolic bone disease Flashcards
What serum investigations would you carry out for metabolic bone disease?
Calcium, corrected calcium, albumin, phosphate, PTH, 25-hydroxy vitamin D
What urine investigations would you carry out for metabolic bone disease?
NTX (n-terminal telopeptide; indicator of bone turnover rate) and calcium phosphate
What biochemical changes are there in osteoporosis?
Increased or normal bone formation and increased bone resorption
Calcium, phosphate and ALP are all normal
What biochemical changes are there in osteomalacia?
Calcium is decreased or normal
Phosphate is decreased
Alk P is increased
What biochemical changes are there in Pagets?
Ca and P are normal
ALP is greatly increased
Bone formation increases
What biochemical changes are there in primary hyperparathyroidism?
Increased calcium
Decreased phosphate
Normal or increased ALP
Increased bone resorption
What biochemical changes are there in renal osteodystrophy?
Decreased or normal calcium
Increased P
Increased ALP
What biochemical changes are there in metastases?
Increased Ca, P and ALP
Increased bone resorption
What happens to calcium as we age?
We have less in our diet
Where is calcium mainly absorbed and how?
Mainly in jejunum and ileum
It is either:
Passive (inefficient and not controlled)
Active (Vit D controlled)
What is the calcium that we measure in serum?
Total calcium
What percentage of calcium is free ionised?
47%
What percentage of calcium is bound to albumin?
46%
How does the remaining 7% of circulating calcium exist?
Complexed to phosphate and citrate
What does the state of calcium in the blood lead to?
Calcium levels are corrected in the blood to compensate for changes in protein levels; if the protein levels are high, they compensate down
When does the amount of protein-bound calcium increase?
During alkalosis
What does PTH have the predominant role in?
Minute by minute regulation of plasma calcium levels- if plasma Ca drops, within seconds there is secretion of PTH from pre-formed stores
What are the two systems that PTH acts on?
Bone- Acute release of available calcium; not in hydroxyapatite crystals- also increased osteoclast activity to reabsorb bone
Kidney- increased calcium re-absorption in the distal convoluted tubule; the only site where ca reabsorption is under active hormonal control. Stimulation of enzyme activity so increasing activated vit D production which leads to increased gut reabsorption of calcium; decreases enzyme activity and increases phosphorous excretion by inhibiting the NAP co-transporter in the proximal tubule
What is PTH as a molecule?
84 amino acid peptide hormone
What is the active form of PTH that is used to build bone?
N1-34
What is PTH dependent on?
Magnesium- low magnesium leads to low PTH and hypocalcaemia
What patients is the PTH dependence on magnesium important to remember in?
Alcoholics
What is the half life of PTH like?
Short of about 8 minutes which allows intraoperative sampling
What can also activate PTH receptors?
PTHrP which is produced by some tumours
What does PTHrP binding to PTH mean?
Hypercalcaemia may be a first presenting feature for example in small cell carcinoma of the lung
What does the calcium sensing receptor do?
Links serum calcium to PTH gland