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Updated: Jul 30, 2026

A Novel in vivo Gene Transfer Technique and in vitro Cell Based Assays for the Study of Bone Loss in Musculoskeletal Disorders
Published on: June 8, 2014
Osteoporosis in beta-thalassemia: Clinical and genetic aspects
R Origa1, E Fiumana, M R Gamberini
1Ospedale Microcitemico, University of Cagliari, Via jenner, 09121 Cagliari, Italy.
Abstract:
Osteoporosis and osteopenia are frequent complications of thalassemia major (TM) and intermedia (TI). Osteoporosis was found in 23/25 patients with TI and in 115/239 patients with TM. In TM, no association was found with specific polymorphisms in candidate genes (vitamin D receptor, estrogen receptor, calcitonin receptor, and collagen type 1 alpha 1). Osteoporosis in female patients with TM was strongly associated with primary amenorrhea (P < .0001), while in male patients with TM, hypogonadism was not significantly related to bone mineral density (BMD) (P = .0001). Low BMD was also associated with cardiomiopathy (P = .01), diabetes mellitus (P = .0001), chronic hepatitis (P = .0029), and increased ALT (P = .01).
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