Prediction of bone mass in renal hyperparathyroidism by newly developed bone metabolic markers: evaluation of serum levels of carboxy-terminal pyridinoline cross-linked telopeptide of type I collagen and carboxy-terminal propeptide of type I procollagen.

Serum levels of the carboxy-terminal pyridinoline cross-linked telopeptide of type I collagen (ICTP) and the carboxy-terminal propeptide of type I procollagen (PICP) were measured in 95 patients with renal hyperparathyroidism who had undergone a total parathyroidectomy and autotransplantation of a small portion of the resected gland. The results were compared with the serum levels of other bone metabolic markers and bone mineral densities in the distal radius (R-BMD) and lumbar vertebrae (L-BMD), which were measured by dual energy x-ray absorptiometry and converted to the percentage of the mean value of sex- and age-matched healthy controls. The preoperative mean values of ICTP and PICP were 142.4 ng/ml and 187.8 ng/ml, respectively. Although the serum levels of PICP levels exceeded the normal range in 42.1% of the patients, those of ICTP exceeded it in all of them. The serum levels of ICTP correlated positively not only with those of tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase (TRACP), total alkaline phosphatase (ALP), and osteocalcin but also negatively with the values of %R-BMD and %L-BMD and seemed to manifest specifically the disturbance of bone metabolism. On the other hand, the serum levels of PICP correlated with those of ALP and TRACP but not with values of %BMDs. After surgery, the serum levels of ICTP decreased gradually, but those of PICP increased immediately up to peak values at 7 days and then decreased gradually after 14 days, reaching the normal range at 3 months. These changes in the bone metabolic markers seemed to reflect the change in bone metabolism that was converting from bone resorption to bone formation. The percent change in the PICP/ICTP ratio at 7 days correlated significantly with the percent change in R-BMD at 12 months, and it was suggested that postoperative bone gain might be predicted using a combination of postoperative changes in PICP and ICTP.