[Diagnosis of osteoporosis using dual photon densitometry]

Osteoporosis is often diagnosed after fracture occurrence, when therapy is less effective. The dual photon densitometry has been the proposed method for osteoporosis early diagnosis. In the present study is presented our experience on the lumbar vertebral and femoral neck bone mass measurement by utilizing a Lunar DP-3 densitometer in normal young 82 volunteers and 103 women with radiologically and clinically diagnosed osteoporosis. The values found in osteoporotical patients were significantly lower when compared to those normals either in lumbar vertebrae (L2-L4) or in the femoral neck. The method's coefficient of variation was less than 0.5%, when determinated with a synthetic phantom aid and less than 1.5% repeating the exam in 10 normal volunteers. These results show that dual photon densitometry is a simple, sensitive and non-invasible method for early diagnosis and therapeutic follow-up of osteoporotical patients.