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Updated: Jul 7, 2026
Longitudinal Evaluation of Mouse Hind Limb Bone Loss After Spinal Cord Injury using Novel, in vivo, Methodology
Published on: December 7, 2011
Effects of long-term immobilisation on cortical bone mass after traumatic amputation of the phalanges estimated by
M-L Schäfer1, A Pfeil, D M Renz
1Institute of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena, Erlanger Allee 101, 07747, Jena, Germany.
Unlabelled:
Osteopenia of the cortical and trabecular bone partition is a common finding after immobilisation. Digital X-ray radiogrammetry (DXR) seems to quantify cortical demineralisation caused by circular saw amputation already few days after accident.
Introduction:
The study analyses the extent of demineralisation caused by immobilisation in patients with digital amputation after a circular saw injury, and elucidates the period of time which discloses a significant deprivation of bone mineral density estimated at the metacarpalia II-IV using DXR.
Methods:
Twenty-eight patients with digital amputations underwent measurements of bone mineral density, cortical thickness, bone width and metacarpal index using DXR-technology in a follow-up up to 902 days.
Results:
The data showed a significant decline of bone mineral density (-10.47%), the metacarpal index (-4.38%), the bone width (-12.06%) and the cortical thickness (-7.04%) after trauma-related amputation. The cortical demineralisation of the metacarpals could already be revealed in two patients after the second day, according to the amputation of phalanges (-3.65%).
Conclusions:
The inhibition of the periosteal bone formation detected by DXR-technique seems to be a specific finding caused by amputation, which thus differs from normal age-related (i.e., endosteal) bone loss and from demineralisation following acute immobilisation (i.e., trabecular osteopenia).
