Department of Orthopedics, Xijing Hospital, Fourth Military Medical University, West Changle Road, Xi'an, 710032, China.
Department of Orthopedics, Xijing Hospital, Fourth Military Medical University, West Changle Road, Xi'an, 710032, China.
Med Hypotheses. 2019 Apr;125:5-7. doi: 10.1016/j.mehy.2019.02.003. Epub 2019 Feb 2.
Osteoporosis and intervertebral disc degeneration (IDD) are both age-related diseases of the musculoskeletal system. With the average life expectancy longer than ever, the morbidity caused by these two diseases is increasing. Nowadays, treatment strategies for osteoporosis are mainly aimed at increasing the mineral density of the bone. Some of these therapies, including vitamin D, calcium, bisphosphonates, Wnt signal activators and parathyroid hormone regulators, have been suggested to be capable of causing calcification of the cartilage endplate in the intervertebral disc. This alteration could block nutrient and oxygen transportation to the center part of the disc, thus lead to intervertebral disc degeneration. Consequently, we hypothesize that osteoporosis therapies might be a potential risk for IDD. This assumption indicates that we should take the alterations of the cartilage endplate into consideration in further osteoporosis treatment to avoid IDD in the patient.
骨质疏松症和椎间盘退行性变（IDD）都是与年龄相关的骨骼肌肉系统疾病。随着平均预期寿命的延长，这两种疾病引起的发病率正在增加。如今，骨质疏松症的治疗策略主要旨在增加骨骼的矿物质密度。一些治疗方法，包括维生素 D、钙、双磷酸盐、Wnt 信号激活剂和甲状旁腺激素调节剂，已被认为可能导致椎间盘软骨终板的钙化。这种改变可能会阻止营养物质和氧气向椎间盘中心部位的运输，从而导致椎间盘退行性变。因此，我们假设骨质疏松症的治疗可能是 IDD 的一个潜在风险。这一假设表明，我们应该在进一步的骨质疏松症治疗中考虑软骨终板的变化，以避免患者发生 IDD。
