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Updated: May 9, 2026
Scanning Skeletal Remains for Bone Mineral Density in Forensic Contexts
Published on: January 29, 2018
Skeletal health in Duchenne dystrophy: bone-size and subcranial dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry analyses
Wendy M King1, John T Kissel, Diane Visy
1Department of Neurology, Wexner Medical Center, The Ohio State University, 395 West 12th Avenue, Columbus, Ohio, 43210, USA.
Introduction:
We performed subcranial and bone-size-adjusted whole body dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) to evaluate skeletal health in Duchenne dystrophy (DMD).
Methods:
Total body bone mineral density (TBBMD)-for-age, subcranial, and size-adjusted DXA analyses were performed on 22 DMD patients (5-17 years) and compared with 267 controls from a database. The skull contribution to total body bone mineral content (TBBMC) and corticosteroid effects were also examined.
Results:
DMD boys had deficits in TBBMD-for-age (Z = -1.2), which increased with age. The skull's contribution to TBBMC decreased from 45% to 15% with growth. Z-scores for subcranial skeleton were significantly lower than TBBMC-for-area and TBBMD-for-age.
Conclusions:
Size-adjusted and subcranial analyses improve evaluation of whole body DXA. DMD boys have low BMD for size not commensurate with total body areal BMD-for-age. Bone fragility fractures in DMD may result from both decreased BMD and smaller bones. This information is vital to determine appropriate intervention. Muscle Nerve 49:512-519, 2014.
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