Aplastic osteodystrophy without aluminum: The role of “suppressed” parathyroid function

• Published in: Kidney international Vol. 44; no. 4; pp. 860 - 866
• Main Authors: Hercz, Gavril, Pei, Y., Greenwood, C., Manuel, A., Saiphoo, C., Goodman, W.G., Segre, G.V., Fenton, S., Sherrard, D.J.
• Format: Journal Article Conference Proceeding
• Language: English
• Published: New York, NY Elsevier Inc 01.10.1993; Nature Publishing
• Subjects: Aluminum - metabolism; Anesthesia. Intensive care medicine. Transfusions. Cell therapy and gene therapy; Biological and medical sciences; Bone and Bones - metabolism; Calcium - therapeutic use; Chronic Kidney Disease-Mineral and Bone Disorder - metabolism; Chronic Kidney Disease-Mineral and Bone Disorder - physiopathology; Cross-Sectional Studies; Dialysis Solutions - chemistry; Emergency and intensive care: renal failure. Dialysis management; Female; Humans; Intensive care medicine; Male; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Osmolar Concentration; Parathyroid Glands - physiopathology; Peritoneal Dialysis; Prospective Studies; Renal Dialysis; Human; Extrarenal dialysis; Urinary system disease; Treatment; Hemodialysis; Diseases of the osteoarticular system; Renal disease; Complication; Peritoneal dialysis
• ISSN: 0085-2538; 1523-1755
• DOI: 10.1038/ki.1993.323

Aplastic osteodystrophy without aluminum: The role of “suppressed” parathyroid function. We evaluated 259 dialysis patients using serum parathyroid hormone (PTH, IRMA; normal range 1 to 5.5 pM or 10 to 55 pg/ml), the deferoxamine infusion test and iliac crest bone biopsy to determine the various forms of renal osteodystrophy and their risk factors. Although half of the biopsied patients had low turnover osteodystrophy, evidence of aluminum toxicity was present in only 1/3 of them. Additional risk factors for this bone lesion included treatment with peritoneal dialysis, ingestion of calcium carbonate, diabetes mellitus and advanced age. The PTH levels in patients with the aplastic lesion were significantly lower than in patients with normal or high bone turnover lesions [7.7 ± 6.1 vs. 36.9 ± 3.2 pM (77 ± 61 vs. 369 ± 32 pg/ml), P < 0.0001]. Aside from hypercalcemia, these patients were relatively asymptomatic. In a second study, 10 patients on peritoneal dialysis with the aplastic lesion had their dialysate calcium lowered from 1.62 to 1.0 mM. This resulted in a significant increase in PTH levels, from [3.7 ± 0.8 to 10.6 ± 1.9 pM (37 ± 8 to 106 ± 19 pg/ml), P < 0.001] which persisted over the nine-month observation period. In conclusion, the aplastic lesion is the most common form of renal osteodystrophy, with aluminum intoxication implicated in only 1/3 of the cases. In the remainder, factors identified include therapy with peritoneal dialysis using supraphysiological dialysate calcium, oral CaCO3 intake and diabetes mellitus. These factors may modulate their effect by lowering serum PTH to levels which are inadequate in maintaining normal bone turnover. The long-term sequelae of this non-aluminum related lesion remain to be defined.