AMINO ACID METABOLISM IN OSTEOPOROSIS

To evaluate amino acid metabolism in osteoporosis, the effects of oral loading with an amino acid mixture were studied in 11 aged patients with advanced osteoporosis, 5 aged patients with mild osteoporosis, and 7 healthy aged subjects (controls). The osteoporotic patients were free of other major diseases. In all three groups the physical examination, blood chemical determinations, urinalysis and fluoroscopy of the upper gastrointestinal tract gave normal findings; in particular, no liver or kidney disease was indicated by the results of function tests. A diagnosis of vertebral osteoporosis was made when the ratio of vertebral to disc density in the lateral tomogram of the lumbar spine was 1.0 or higher; in the normal subjects, the ratio was always less than 1.0. The presence of compression fracture(s) was considered to indicate severe osteoporosis, whereas the absence of such fractures graded the disease as mild.