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Analysis of bone mineral density distribution at trabecular bones in thoracic and lumbar vertebrae using X-ray CT images

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Abstract

The number of participants in thoracic or abdominal examinations using multi-detector-row CT (MDCT) has been increasing recently. If the degree of progress of osteoporosis can be estimated using these images, it may be useful as it will allow predictions of vertebral fractures without an additional radiation exposure. The aims of this study were to investigate segmental variations in bone mineral density (BMD) distributions of thoracic and lumbar vertebral bodies and to show specific differences according to age and gender. A large database including 1,031 Japanese subjects for whom MDCT was used to examine various organs and tissues was utilized in this study for trabecular BMD at thoracic and lumbar vertebrae. In relationship to vertebral level, L3 had the lowest trabecular BMD. BMD tended to gradually increase from L3 to T1 in all age categories. Also, there was a moderate correlation between vertebrae whose distance from each other was great whereas there was a high correlation between adjacent vertebrae. It may be appropriate to use an arbitrary vertebra as a first approximation for assessing vertebrae that are in the area of predilection for the fracture; however, to better understand their behavior, it may be necessary to measure BMD directly in this region. This study showed trabecular BMD distribution at healthy thoracic and lumbar vertebrae in Japanese subjects and specific differences in age and gender. Improved knowledge about vertebral BMD may help with the diagnosis of primary osteoporosis using MDCT.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank members of the Fujita Laboratory for their valuable discussion and are grateful to Gifu University Hospital staff for preparing the CT cases, especially to Mr. T. Miyoshi and Mr. Y. Inoue. This research was supported in part by a research grant of Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists B (21700462) from Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS), in part by a research grant from Japan Osteoporosis Foundation, in part by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare under a Grant-In-Aid for Cancer Research, Japanese Government, and in part by a research grant of Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research on Priority Areas (21103004) of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology, Japan.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Intelligent Image Information, Division of Regeneration and Advanced Medical Sciences, Graduate School of Medicine, Gifu University, 1-1 Yanagido, Gifu, 501-1194, Japan

    Tatsuro Hayashi, Xiangrong Zhou, Takeshi Hara & Hiroshi Fujita

  2. Department of Anatomy, Division of Disease Control, Graduate School of Medicine, Gifu University, Gifu, Japan

    Huayue Chen

  3. Department of Reconstructive Surgery for Spine, Bone, and Joint, Graduate School of Medicine, Gifu University, Gifu, Japan

    Kei Miyamoto

  4. Department of Radiology Services, Gifu University Hospital, Gifu, Japan

    Ryujiro Yokoyama & Masayuki Kanematsu

  5. Department of Radiology, Gifu University Hospital, Gifu, Japan

    Masayuki Kanematsu

  6. Department of Radiology, Division of Tumor Control, Graduate School of Medicine, Gifu University, Gifu, Japan

    Hiroaki Hoshi

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  1. Tatsuro Hayashi
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  2. Huayue Chen
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  3. Kei Miyamoto
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  4. Xiangrong Zhou
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  5. Takeshi Hara
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  6. Ryujiro Yokoyama
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  7. Masayuki Kanematsu
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  8. Hiroaki Hoshi
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  9. Hiroshi Fujita
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Correspondence to Tatsuro Hayashi.

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Hayashi, T., Chen, H., Miyamoto, K. et al. Analysis of bone mineral density distribution at trabecular bones in thoracic and lumbar vertebrae using X-ray CT images. J Bone Miner Metab 29, 174–185 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00774-010-0204-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00774-010-0204-1

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