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In osteoporosis patients receiving antiresorptive medications, stopping the drug and delaying tooth extraction has been suggested to reduce the risk of osteonecrosis of the jaw (ONJ). However, postponing tooth extraction for ≥ 2 months was associated with an increased risk of delayed wound healing beyond 8 weeks after extraction, a risk factor for developing ONJ. A long waiting time before tooth extraction could result from concern about a potential increased risk of osteonecrosis of the jaw (ONJ) in osteoporosis patients. We clarified whether a long waiting time before tooth extraction during the past year may be associated with an increased risk of delayed wound healing beyond 8 weeks after tooth extraction, which may be a risk factor of ONJ. Of 5639 patients aged ≥ 60 years who visited our 20 clinics or hospitals and answered a structured questionnaire, 426 patients (151 men, 275 women) aged 60–96 years comprised the final participants in this study. Self-reported kyphosis was used as a surrogate marker of vertebral fractures. Stepwise logistic regression analysis, adjusted for covariates, was used to calculate the odds ratio (OR) and the 95% confidence interval (CI) for the presence of delayed wound healing longer than 8 weeks after tooth extraction during the past year based on the duration before extraction. Subjects who had waited > 2 months for tooth extraction had a significantly higher risk of delayed wound healing compared with those whose tooth was extracted within 1 month (OR = 7.23; 95% CI = 2.19–23.85, p = 0.001) regardless if antiresorptive medications for osteoporosis were used. The presence of self-reported kyphosis was significantly associated with an increased risk of delayed wound healing (OR = 5.08; 95% CI = 1.11–23.32, p = 0.036). A long waiting time before tooth extraction may be a risk factor for delayed wound healing beyond 8 weeks after extraction in patients aged ≥ 60 years.

Most of the alkaline phosphatase (ALP) isoenzymes are derived from the bones and liver. High levels of ALP are often encountered during routine blood investigation in elderly patients. However, because ALP includes various isoenzymes from other tissues, an accurate diagnosis is usually not possible on the basis of elevated ALP alone. To identify the cause of increased ALP in postmenopausal women. We measured serum ALP in a group of 626 postmenopausal osteoporotic women before and after treatment with a bisphosphonate (either alendronate or risedronate). We analyzed the correlations between ALP levels and bone metabolic markers or hepatic function markers. The ALP and BAP levels of people in their 80s were significantly higher than those of people in their 60s. With bisphosphonate therapy, the BAP decreased, and the elevated ALP decreased to normal range levels. ALP was highly and significantly correlated with BAP both before and after treatment. The changes in levels of ALP correlated well with the changes in BAP levels before and after bisphosphonate therapy. Markers of liver function correlated with total ALP (p

Chronic pain, a challenging issue worldwide, requires better treatment. In this prospective, open-label study, we examined the frequency of adverse effects associated with treatment with a fixed-dose combination of tramadol/acetaminophen 37.5/325 mg following gradually increased administration in outpatients with chronic musculoskeletal pain (focusing on degenerative spinal disorders and degenerative joint disorders). In all cases, tramadol/acetaminophen administration reached a plateau within 2 months and the frequency of adverse events were evaluated at that time. Patients with degenerative spinal disorders had significantly higher rates of overall adverse events and constipation (the most common adverse event) than patients with joint disorders.

It is unclear whether osteoporosis itself is a main risk factor for delayed wound healing after tooth extraction in humans. In this study, we evaluated the association between experience of delayed wound healing after last tooth extraction and self-reported kyphosis, with the possibility of having vertebral fractures, in Japanese patients. Among the 1,504 patients who responded to the structured questionnaire survey, 518 patients (134 men and 384 women) aged 55–97 years finally participated in this study. Patients who self-reported mild-moderate kyphosis were more likely to have problematic delayed wound healing after last tooth extraction than those who reported severe kyphosis (odds ratio [OR] 4.98; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.86–13.38 and OR 2.30; 95% CI, 0.52–10.22, respectively) (p for trend = 0.005). Japanese patients with vertebral fractures may have a higher risk of having problematic delayed wound healing after tooth extraction.

Twelve patients presented at our department with low back or buttock pain and were diagnosed as suffering from insufficiency fracture. All patients were evaluated with plain radiographs, magnetic resonance imaging, and/or bone scintigraphy. We also measured biochemical markers of bone turnover in these patients. Bone scintigraphy revealed a high uptake in the fracture site in all patients with insufficiency fracture. Biochemical markers of bone turnover were significantly increased in all patients, but decreased after the fracture healed and the pain was resolved. In those patients who complained of pain again, the biochemical markers of bone turnover had increased once more, and bone scintigraphy showed a new fracture at a different site. Because the changes in bone turnover markers were closely related to clinical symptoms of insufficiency fracture, we speculated that repeated measurements of bone turnover markers may be informative for discriminating insufficiency fracture from bone metastasis.

Population studies among Japanese were carried out at the D1S80 locus by the polymerase chain reaction and subsequent analysis in agarose gel electrophoresis. A total of 58 genotypes and 25 alleles ranging from 16 to 45 repeat units were observed in a population group of 121 unrelated individuals. The alleles with 18, 24 and 30 repeat units were found to be most common. Some large alleles with more than 42 repeat units were first observed in this study. Statistical tests for Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium showed that no significant deviations could be found in this Japanese population sample. The values of the mean exclusion chance and the discriminating power (DP) were calculated to be 0.76 and 0.91, respectively. The observed heterozygosity was 0.91.