Assessing bone mass in children and adolescents
Tishya A L Wren1, Vicente Gilsanz
1Childrens Hospital Los Angeles, Department of Radiology, MS #81, 4650 Sunset Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90027, USA. vgilsanz@chla.usc.edu
Current Osteoporosis Reports
|November 23, 2006
Summary
Assessing bone mass in children is crucial as osteoporosis may begin in childhood. Current imaging techniques like DXA have limitations, and further research is needed to link bone measures to fracture risk.
Area of Science:
- Pediatrics
- Radiology
- Osteoporosis Research
Background:
- Growing evidence suggests osteoporosis may originate in childhood.
- There is increasing interest in evaluating bone mass during childhood and adolescence.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review noninvasive imaging techniques for assessing bone properties in the growing skeleton.
- To highlight the limitations of current methods and identify areas for future research.
Main Methods:
- Review of noninvasive imaging techniques including Dual-energy X-ray Absorptiometry (DXA), Quantitative CT (QCT), peripheral Quantitative CT (pQCT), and Quantitative Ultrasound (QUS).
- Discussion of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) techniques currently under development.
Main Results:
- DXA is widely used but relies on 2D projections.
- QCT and pQCT offer 3D imaging but involve higher costs and radiation.
- QUS is simple and inexpensive but measures bone quality at a single peripheral site.
- MRI bone measurement techniques are still in early development.
Conclusions:
- Clinical interpretation of bone measures in children and adolescents remains challenging.
- Further research is essential to correlate these bone measures with elderly osteoporosis and fracture risk.
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