Metacarpal bone measurements in renal transplant recipients, in corticosteroid-treated patients with polymyalgia rheumatica and in patients with primary hyperparathyroidism.

Quantitative radiological measurements on the second left metacarpal bone were carried out in 23 patients with primary hyperparathyroidism, 22 corticosteroid-treated patients with polymyalgia rheumatica and 40 renal transplant recipients treated with prednisone and azathioprine. Women with primary hyperparathyroidism and corticosteroid-treated women showed significantly decreased mean values of metacarpal bone compared to normal controls, probably due to a higher bone resorption than formation at the endosteal surface. Bone loss was more pronounced in corticosteroid-treated women than in women with primary hyperparathyroidism, partly due to age difference. In renal transplant recipients, bone loss took place during the initial period after renal transplantation, probably due to increased endosteal bone resorption. During this period a periosteal new bone formation took place in female renal transplant recipients. The quantitative radiological measurements make it possible to determine whether bone loss is due to a higher ratio of bone resorption than of bone formation at the periosteal and/or endosteal surface.