Adynamic bone disease: pathogenesis, diagnosis and clinical relevance

In the past several years significant attention has been directed to the study of adynamic bone disease in uremic patients. Several reports have provided additional information about the prevalence of adynamic bone disease in different countries. It has now become clear that the pathogenesis of adynamic bone disease cannot be ascribed to one single aetiological factor, but rather to a host of complex factors. From recently published papers we have learned about the mechanism of downregulation of the parathyroid hormone/parathyroid hormone-related peptide receptor on osteoblast-like cells, which may be a very important step in the pathogenesis of adynamic bone disease. A provocative hypothesis attempts to link the widespread use of erythropoietin to the emergence of adynamic bone disease-lacking excessive aluminium accumulation. It appears from some studies that bone-specific alkaline phosphatase might become a valuable tool in differentiating high turnover from low/normal turnover bone disease; however, further studies are needed to establish the role of this marker in the diagnosis of adynamic bone disease. Several papers discussed the pros and cons of lowering the calcium concentration of the dialysate in order to prevent adynamic bone disease. The results of these studies help us to understand the pathogenesis and the clinical relevance of this lesion in attempts to provide better care for our patients.