Article

Osteoporosis is a significant clinical problem in persons with moderate to
severe cerebral palsy (CP), causing fractures with minimal trauma. Over the past
decade, most studies examining osteoporosis and CP have been cross-sectional in
nature, focused exclusively on children and adolescents and only involving one
evaluation of bone mineral density (BMD). The purpose of this study was to assess
BMD in a group including adults with CP, and changes in each individual's BMD
over a 5- to 6-year period. METHOD: The study group included 40 residents of a
long-term care facility aged 6 to 26 years at the time of their initial
evaluation. Twenty-one patients (52.5%) were male, 35 (88%) were white, and 38
(95%) were in Gross Motor Function Classification System level V. BMD was
assessed by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry on the right and left distal femurs
for three distinct regions of interest. RESULTS: Five residents had a fracture
that occurred during the study period; this represented a fracture rate of 2.1%
per year in the study group. Longitudinally, annualized change in the median BMD
was 0.7% to 1.0% per year in the different regions of the distal femur, but
ranged widely among the study group, with both increases and decreases in BMD.
Increase in BMD over time was negatively correlated with age and positively
correlated with change in weight. INTERPRETATION: Changes in BMD over time in
profoundly involved persons with CP can range widely, which is important to
recognize when evaluating potential interventions to improve BMD. Age and changes
in body weight appear the most relevant factors.
CI - (c) 2015 Mac Keith Press.

Langue : ANGLAIS