Back fractures common after stem cell transplant
Tue Jul 24, 2007 11:42PM BST
By Martha Kerr
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - More than one third of children and
adolescents who undergo allogenic stem cell transplantation have
thinning of their bones, and one in five had crushed vertebrae in
their backs, Finnish researchers report.
Allogeneic stem cell transplantation is used to treat leukemia and a
variety of other cancerous and non-cancerous conditions. Allogeneic
means that the cells from a closely matched donor are removed and
implanted in the patient. The goal of therapy is typically to replace
diseased cells of the bone marrow with fully functioning cells from
another person.
Dr. Mervi Taskinen of the University of Helsinki and colleagues
evaluated the bone health of 44 children a few years after they
underwent stem cell transplantation. Study subjects were 18.5 years
of age or younger; at the time of transplantation, they were around
10 years old.
Sixteen patients had evidence of bone thinning, the investigators
report in the journal Cancer. These children were similar to the
other 28 patients in terms of clinical characteristic and laboratory
test results.
Bone thinning "was especially evident at the hip" in the pubertal and
postpubertal children, the investigators say.
Nine patients (20 percent) had vertebral fractures and five patients
(11 percent) had other fractures. Seven of the nine vertebral
fractures caused no symptoms.
The investigators conclude that because of the heightened risk of
bone thinning and vertebral fractures, children undergoing stem cell
transplantation should be carefully monitored after the procedure and
possibly given drugs that help strengthen the bones.
SOURCE: Cancer, July 15, 2007.
http://uk.reuters.
«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
StemCells subscribers may also be interested in these sites:
Children's Neurobiological Solutions
http://www.CNSfoundation.org/
Cord Blood Registry
http://www.CordBlood.com/at.cgi?a=150123
The CNS Healing Group
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CNS_Healing
____________________________________________
«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Change settings via the Web (Yahoo! ID required)
Change settings via email: Switch delivery to Daily Digest | Switch format to Traditional
Visit Your Group | Yahoo! Groups Terms of Use | Unsubscribe
__,_._,___
