[Renal osteopathy and bone mineralisation in patients treated with dihydrotachysterol during long term dialysis (author's transl)].

21 hypocalcemic patients on regular hemodialysis were treated for 2 months with 0.2 mg and for a further 2 months with 0.46 mg dihydrotachysterol daily. 8 normocalcemic patients served as a control group. Radiological and radiodensitometric investigations were undertaken in all patients at regular intervals. Slight signs of renal osteopathy with a predominant osteomalacic component could be established in the skeletal X-ray in 55% of all patients. Compared with a healthy collective, all dialysis patients showed a small but significant reduction of bone mineralisation radiodensitometrically before the beginning of treatment. During treatment with dihydrotachysterol, the patients showed a significant demineralisation of the skeleton. In four cases the characteristics of the osteopathy also increased in the skeletal radiography. During the same period of observation, none of the untreated patients showed any change of the bone mineralisation.