Cirovic Aleksandar, Djonic Danijela, Zivkovic Vladimir, Nikolic Slobodan, Djuric Marija, Milovanovic Petar
Center of Bone Biology, Institute of Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade, Dr Subotica 4/2, Belgrade, Serbia.
Institute of Forensic Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade, Deligradska 31a, Belgrade, Serbia.
Biometals. 2025 Jun;38(3):965-981. doi: 10.1007/s10534-025-00689-3. Epub 2025 May 5.
Increased urine and blood concentrations of heavy metals are linked to an elevated hip fracture risk, but studies dedicated to directly measuring metal(oid) concentrations in the femoral neck are limited. We investigated whether individuals with fractures exhibit a different pattern of metal(oid) bioaccumulation in the femoral neck and examined potential correlations between the concentrations of various metal(oid)s in the femoral neck and trabecular microarchitecture. To address these objectives, we collected femoral neck specimens from 23 individuals, namely 11 individuals with a positive history of contralateral hip fracture (9 women and 2 men, mean age 77.7 ± 8.1 years) and 12 individuals without fractures (10 women and 2 men, mean age 79.5 ± 5.6 years). All samples were subject to microcomputed tomography (micro-CT) to evaluate bone microarchitecture and inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry to determine tissue concentrations of metal(oid)s. In the fully adjusted model (adjusted for bone volume, age, and calcium tissue concentration), individuals with hip fractures exhibited higher aluminum levels (p = 0.047) and lower vanadium levels (p < 0.001). Individuals who sustained fragility fractures also showed lower BV/TV, Tb.Th, Tb.N, and higher Tb.Sp in the femoral neck trabeculae compared with the control group. Several different metal(oid)s were associated with altered patterns of trabecular microarchitecture. In summary, higher aluminum and lower vanadium concentrations in the trabeculae of the femoral neck provide a potential background for the gradual increase in fracture risk. Correlational analysis revealed an association between exposure to certain metals and deteriorated trabecular microarchitecture; however, larger studies are needed to determine the elements independently affecting bone microarchitecture.
尿液和血液中重金属浓度升高与髋部骨折风险增加有关，但专门用于直接测量股骨颈中金属（类金属）浓度的研究有限。我们调查了骨折患者在股骨颈中是否表现出不同的金属（类金属）生物累积模式，并研究了股骨颈中各种金属（类金属）浓度与小梁微结构之间的潜在相关性。为了实现这些目标，我们收集了23名个体的股骨颈标本，即11名有对侧髋部骨折阳性病史的个体（9名女性和2名男性，平均年龄77.7±8.1岁）和12名无骨折个体（10名女性和2名男性，平均年龄79.5±5.6岁）。所有样本均接受微计算机断层扫描（micro-CT）以评估骨微结构，并采用电感耦合等离子体质谱法测定组织中金属（类金属）的浓度。在完全调整模型（根据骨体积、年龄和钙组织浓度进行调整）中，髋部骨折患者的铝水平较高（p = 0.047），钒水平较低（p < 0.001）。与对照组相比，发生脆性骨折的个体在股骨颈小梁中也表现出较低的骨体积分数（BV/TV）、小梁厚度（Tb.Th）、小梁数量（Tb.N）和较高的小梁间距（Tb.Sp）。几种不同的金属（类金属）与小梁微结构的改变模式有关。总之，股骨颈小梁中较高的铝浓度和较低的钒浓度为骨折风险的逐渐增加提供了潜在背景。相关性分析揭示了接触某些金属与小梁微结构恶化之间的关联；然而，需要更大规模的研究来确定独立影响骨微结构的元素。
