Relationship between vertebral bone marrow blood perfusion and common carotid intima-media thickness in aging adults

Sex-Specific Associations Between Cardiac Workload, Peripheral Vascular Calcification, and Bone Mineral Density: The Gambian Bone and Muscle Aging Study

Noncommunicable diseases (NCD) are rapidly rising in Africa, with multimorbidity increasing the burden on health and social care. Osteoporosis and cardiovascular disease (CVD) share common risk factors; both often remain undiagnosed until a major life-threatening event occurs. We investigated the associations between cardiac workload, peripheral vascular calcification (PVC), and bone parameters in Gambian adults. The Gambian Bone and Muscle Aging Study (GamBAS) recruited 249 women and 239 men aged 40 to 75+ years. Body composition and areal bone mineral density (aBMD) were measured using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry; peripheral quantitative computed tomography (pQCT) scans were performed at the radius and tibia. Supine blood pressure and heart rate were measured and used to calculate rate pressure product and pulse pressure. Presence of PVC was determined from tibia pQCT scans. Sex interactions were tested (denoted as p-int); adjustments were made for residuals of appendicular lean mass (ALM) and fat mass (FM). There were negative associations between rate pressure product and aBMD in women only, all p-int < .05; after adjustment for ALM residuals, for every 10% increase in rate pressure product, aBMD was lower at the whole body (-0.6% [-1.2, -0.1]), femoral neck (-0.9% [-1.8, -0.05]), L1 to L4 (-0.6% [-1.7, 0.5]), and radius (-1.9% [-2.8, -0.9]); there were similar associations when adjusted for FM residuals. Similar negative associations were found between pulse pressure and aBMD in women only. PVC were found in 26.6% men and 22.5% women; women but not men with calcification had poorer cardiac health and negative associations with aBMD (all sites p-int < .001). There were consistent associations with cardiac parameters and pQCT outcomes at the radius and tibia in women only. Multiple markers of cardiac health are associated with poorer bone health in Gambian women. In the context of epidemiological transition and changing NCD burden, there is a need to identify preventative strategies to slow/prevent the rising burden in CVD and osteoporosis in Sub-Saharan Africa. © 2020 The Authors. Journal of Bone and Mineral Research published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of American Society for Bone and Mineral Research (ASBMR).

Advanced Quantitative Spine Imaging

Although advanced quantitative imaging may not be currently used to any degree in the routine reporting of spinal examinations, this situation will change in the not too distant future. Advanced quantitative imaging has already allowed us to understand a great deal more regarding spinal development, marrow physiology, and disease pathogenesis. Radiologists are ideally suited to drive this research forward. To speed up this process and optimize the impact of studies reporting spine quantitative data, we should work toward universal standards on the acquisition of spine data that will allow quantitative studies to be more easily compared, contrasted, and amalgamated.

A study of dynamic contrast-enhanced MR imaging features and influence factors of pelvic bone marrow in adult females

Perfusion of the pelvic bone marrow is reduced in the postmenopausal group and with age. Quantitative dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI could reflect the blood supply characteristics and hemodynamic changes of the pelvic bone marrow. These results contribute to the description of osteoporosis in the postmenopausal females and the elderly.

INTRODUCTION

To investigate the effect of menstrual status and age on the perfusion of pelvic bone marrow in adult females using quantitative dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI (DCE-MRI).

METHODS

In total, 96 adult females who underwent DCE-MRI between September 2017 and December 2017 were included. All the subjects' quantitative DCE-MRI parameters of pelvic bone marrow were measured and retrospectively analyzed, including K^trans (volume transfer constant), K_ep (efflux rate constant), and V_e (interstitial volume). According to their menstrual status, the subjects were divided into a premenopausal group (n = 39) and a postmenopausal group (n = 57), and the two groups were then divided into four subgroups according to age. The intraobserver reliability was assessed by the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). The parameters were compared between different menstrual status groups and age subgroups by Mann-Whitney test, and Spearman correlation analysis was used to evaluate the correlation between the age and the quantitative parameters.

RESULTS

The ICCs of the K^trans, K_ep, and V_e values were 0.989, 0.974, and 0.920, respectively. K^trans, K_ep, and V_e of the premenopausal group were significantly higher than those of the postmenopausal group (P < 0.05). The overall age was negatively correlated with K^trans, K_ep, and V_e (r = - 0.590, - 0.357, and - 0.381, respectively, P < 0.05). In the premenopausal group, K^trans and V_e were significantly higher in subgroup 1 (≤ 40 years) compared with subgroup 2 (> 40 years) (P < 0.05), and age showed a negative correlation with K^trans and V_e (r = - 0.344 and - 0.334, respectively, P < 0.05). In the postmenopausal group, K^trans and K_ep were significantly higher in subgroup 3 (≤ 60 years) compared with subgroup 4 (> 60 years) (P < 0.05), and age showed a negative correlation with K^trans and K_ep (r = - 0.460 and - 0.303, respectively, P < 0.05).

CONCLUSION

Menstrual status and age have significant effects on the perfusion of the pelvic bone marrow microenvironment in adult females and that the microenvironment of the pelvic bone marrow displays different changes at different age stages. Quantitative DCE-MRI has contributed to the interpretation of the pelvic bone marrow perfusion status.

The associations of subclinical atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease with hip fracture risk and bone mineral density in elderly adults

In the absence of clinically recognized cardiovascular disease, increased carotid artery intimal medial thickness was associated with higher hip fracture risk in older adults, despite its association with higher bone mineral density (BMD). Low ankle brachial index and aortic wall thickness were not associated with fracture risk or BMD.

INTRODUCTION

Clinically recognized cardiovascular disease (CVD) is associated with osteoporosis and hip fracture risk, but the relationship of subclinical atherosclerosis to bone health is not certain.

METHODS

We followed 3385 participants from the Cardiovascular Health Study (mean age 74.7 ± 5.3 years) with a median time to fracture of 12.1 years who underwent baseline carotid artery and aortic wall ultrasound scanning and ankle brachial blood pressure index (ABI) determinations. A subset underwent bone mineral density (BMD) testing.

RESULTS

There were 494 hip fractures during follow-up. Among persons without clinical CVD, an average standard-deviation increase in a composite score of maximal common and internal carotid artery intimal medial thickness (cIMT) was associated with increased risk of hip fracture [(HR 1.18 [1.04, 1.35]), even though cIMT was positively associated with BMD. Neither aortic wall thickness nor ABI were associated with hip fracture risk or BMD. Among participants with clinical CVD, cIMT and aortic wall thickness, but not ABI, were associated with increased hip fracture risk.

CONCLUSION

Subclinical cIMT is associated with an increased risk of hip fractures despite being associated with increased BMD. This finding suggests that vascular health, even in its early stages, is linked to bone health, by pathways other than BMD.

Dynamic contrast enhanced magnetic resonance imaging of diffuse spinal bone marrow infiltration in patients with hematological malignancies

Objective

To investigate the significance of the dynamic contrast enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (DCE-MRI) parameters of diffuse spinal bone marrow infiltration in patients with hematological malignancies.

Materials and Methods

Dynamic gadolinium-enhanced MR imaging of the lumbar spine was performed in 26 patients with histologically proven diffuse bone marrow infiltration, including multiple myeloma (n = 6), acute lymphoblastic leukemia (n = 6), acute myeloid leukemia (n = 5), chronic myeloid leukemia (n = 7), and non-Hodgkin lymphoma (n = 2). Twenty subjects whose spinal MRI was normal, made up the control group. Peak enhancement percentage (E_max), enhancement slope (ES), and time to peak (TTP) were determined from a time-intensity curve (TIC) of lumbar vertebral bone marrow. A comparison between baseline and follow-up MR images and its histological correlation were evaluated in 10 patients. The infiltration grade of hematopoietic marrow with plasma cells was evaluated by a histological assessment of bone marrow.

Results

Differences in E_max, ES, and TTP values between the control group and the patients with diffuse bone marrow infiltration were significant (t = -11.51, -9.81 and 3.91, respectively, p < 0.01). E_max, ES, and TTP values were significantly different between bone marrow infiltration groups Grade 1 and Grade 2 (Z = -2.72, -2.24 and -2.89 respectively, p < 0.05). E_max, ES and TTP values were not significantly different between bone marrow infiltration groups Grade 2 and Grade 3 (Z = -1.57, -1.82 and -1.58 respectively, p > 0.05). A positive correlation was found between E_max, ES values and the histological grade of bone marrow infiltration (r = 0.86 and 0.84 respectively, p < 0.01). A negative correlation was found between the TTP values and bone marrow infiltration histological grade (r = -0.54, p < 0.01). A decrease in the E_max and ES values was observed with increased TTP values after treatment in all of the 10 patients who responded to treatment (t = -7.92, -4.55, and 5.12, respectively, p < 0.01).

Conclusion

DCE-MRI of spine can be a useful tool in detecting diffuse marrow infiltration of hematological malignancies, while its parameters including E_max, ES, and TTP can reflect the malignancies' histological grade.

Bone mineral density and atherosclerosis: the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis, Abdominal Aortic Calcium Study

CONTEXT

Molecular and cell biology studies have demonstrated an association between bone and arterial wall disease, but the significance of a population-level association is less clear and potentially confounded by inability to account for shared risk factors.

OBJECTIVE

To test population-level associations between atherosclerosis types and bone integrity.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

Volumetric trabecular lumbar bone mineral density (vBMD), ankle-brachial index (ABI), intima-media thickness (IMT) of the common carotid (CCA-IMT) and internal carotid (ICA-IMT) arteries, and carotid plaque echogenicity.

DESIGN, SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS

A random subset of participants from the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA) assessed between 2002 and 2005.

RESULTS

904 post-menopausal female (62.4 years; 62% non-white; 12% ABI <1; 17% CCA-IMT >1mm; 33% ICA-IMT >1mm) and 929 male (61.4 years; 58% non-white; 6% ABI <1; 25% CCA-IMT >1mm; 40% ICA-IMT >1mm) were included. In serial, sex-specific regression models adjusting for age, ethnicity, body mass index, dyslipidemia, hypertension, smoking, alcohol consumption, diabetes, homocysteine, interleukin-6, sex hormones, and renal function, lower vBMD was associated with lower ABI in men (p for trend <0.01) and greater ICA-IMT in men (p for trend <0.02). CCA-IMT was not associated with vBMD in men or women. Carotid plaque echogenicity was independently associated with lower vBMD in both men (trend p=0.01) and women (trend p<0.04). In all models, adjustment did not materially affect results.

CONCLUSIONS

Lower vBMD is independently associated with structural and functional measures of atherosclerosis in men and with more advanced and calcified carotid atherosclerotic plaques in both sexes.

Intervertebral disk degeneration related to reduced vertebral marrow perfusion at dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI

OBJECTIVE

The purpose of this study was to use dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI to ascertain the relation between intervertebral disk degeneration and lumbar vertebral marrow blood perfusion.

SUBJECTS AND METHODS

We recruited 25 patients (50 vertebral bodies) who underwent dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI of the lumbar spine. The peak signal enhancement of each vertebral body was calculated from the time signal after curve fitting of a pharmacokinetic model. We controlled for other variables that might have affected blood perfusion by assessing two vertebral bodies in each patient. The 25 patients were divided into three groups. In group 1, one of the vertebral bodies (L1 or L3) evaluated was between two adjacent normal disks and the other was between two adjacent degenerated disks. In group 2, each of the two vertebral bodies evaluated was between two normal disks. In group 3 each of the two vertebral bodies evaluated was between two degenerated disks.

RESULTS

Without normalization by minimization of other variables, there were no statistically significant differences in original peak enhancement values among groups 1, 2, and 3 (p = 0.179). After normalization, the peak enhancement in group 1 (0.846 +/- 0.060) was significantly lower than that in group 2 (0.988 +/- 0.047) (p = 0.003) or group 3 (0.973 +/- 0.081) (p = 0.008).

CONCLUSION

After normalization, lumbar vertebral marrow perfusion correlated well with intervertebral disk degeneration evaluated with dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI. Blood perfusion was 14% less in the vertebral body marrow between two degenerated disks than in vertebral marrow between two normal disks.

Association of coronary artery and aortic calcium with lumbar bone density: the MESA Abdominal Aortic Calcium Study

Atherosclerosis and osteoporosis share many risk factors, but their independent association is unclear. The authors investigated the independent associations between volumetric trabecular bone mineral density (vBMD) of the lumbar spine and coronary artery calcium (CAC) and abdominal aortic calcium (AAC). During 2002-2005, they used quantitative computed tomography to assess vBMD and the presence and extent of CAC and AAC among 946 women (mean age = 65.5 years) and 963 men (mean age = 64.1 years) in a substudy of the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis. Prevalences of CAC were 47% and 68% in women and men, respectively, and AAC prevalences were 70% and 73%. Sequential, sex-specific regression models included adjustment for age, ethnicity, body mass index, hypertension, dyslipidemia, diabetes mellitus, smoking, alcohol consumption, physical activity, interleukin-6, C-reactive protein, homocysteine, and sex hormones. After full adjustment, lower vBMD was associated with greater CAC score among women (P < 0.002) and greater AAC score among women (P = 0.004) and men (P < 0.001). After adjustment, vBMD quartile was inversely associated with CAC prevalence (P-trend = 0.05) in women and AAC prevalence (P-trend < 0.01) in men. Partially and fully adjusted models showed similar results. Though modest, these significant, independent associations suggest that atherosclerosis and bone loss may be related.

Vertebral marrow fat content and diffusion and perfusion indexes in women with varying bone density: MR evaluation

PURPOSE

To prospectively study the relationship among vertebral marrow fat content, marrow diffusion indexes, and marrow and erector spinae muscle perfusion indexes in female subjects with varying bone mineral density.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Institutional study approval and informed consent were obtained. Dual x-ray absorptiometry, proton magnetic resonance (MR) spectroscopy, diffusion-weighted MR imaging, and dynamic contrast material-enhanced MR imaging of the lumbar spine and erector spinae muscle were performed in 110 women (mean age, 73 years; range, 67-84 years). Marrow fat content, marrow apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC), and perfusion indexes (maximum enhancement and enhancement slope) of marrow and erector spinae muscle were compared among three bone density groups (normal, osteopenic, and osteoporotic). The t test comparisons and Pearson correlations were applied.

RESULTS

Seven subjects were excluded, which yielded a final cohort of 103 subjects: 18 with normal bone density, 30 with osteopenia, and 55 with osteoporosis. Vertebral marrow fat content was significantly increased in the osteoporotic group (67.8% +/- 8.5 [standard deviation]) when compared with that of the normal bone density group (59.2% +/- 10.0, P = .002). Vertebral marrow perfusion indexes were significantly decreased in the osteoporotic group (enhancement slope, 1.10%/sec +/- 0.51) compared with those of the osteopenic group (1.45%/sec +/- 0.51, P = .01) and normal bone density group (1.70%/sec +/- 0.52, P < .001). Erector spinae muscle perfusion indexes did not decrease as bone density decreased. The ADC of vertebral marrow did not change with bone density.

CONCLUSION

The subjects experienced a decrease in vertebral marrow maximum enhancement and enhancement slope and an increase in marrow fat content as bone density decreased. The reduction in perfusion indexes occurred only within the vertebral body and not in the paravertebral tissues supplied by the same artery.