A comparison of the measurements with biochemical markers of bone turnover and bone mineral density in the assessment of the efficiency of osteoporosis treatment [Osteporoz tedavisinin etkinliǧinin deǧerlendirilmesinde kemik döngüsü biyokimyasal belirteçleri ve kemik mineral yoǧunluǧu ölçümlerinin karşilaştirilmasi]

Objectives: this study aims to compare the measurements using biochemical markers of bone turnover and bone mineral density (bmd) in the assessment of the efficiency of osteoporosis treatment. patients and methods: between march 2006 and december 2008,166 patients with osteoporosis in our clinic were included. patients who were out of contact due to death or other reasons during follow-up were excluded. we compared the measurements of urinary biochemical markers of bone turnover using cross-linked n-telopeptide (ntx) values and bmd in 60 patients (49 females,11 males; mean age: 65.7 years; range: 42 to 87 years) with osteoporosis who were treatment-naive and completed study. results: twenty-nine (48.3%) of the patients received surgical treatment,while 31 (51.7%) received conservative therapy. urine ntx values of the patients decreased 38.82% at three months; 51.99% at six months and 66.41% at 12 months. lumbar vertebra bmd increased by 20.7% and femur neck bmd increased by 11.9% at the end of the first year. conclusion: urine ntx values respond to osteoporosis treatment faster than bmd measurements; thereby it may be suitable to use this parameter for the monitorization of the treatment efficiency.