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Age-Related Physiological Changes of the Bone Marrow and Immune System

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Geriatric Imaging

Abstract

Osteoporotic research has quite rightly focused on the hard tissue component of bone as this is the component that ultimately gives bone its strength. The marrow cavity nevertheless forms a major constituent of bone and has received relatively less attention regarding osteoporotic research. The bone marrow is one of the most voluminous and also metabolically active organs in the human body, more so than mineralized bone tissue, that is involved in perfusion or nutrition of adjacent bone tissue. Our knowledge of bone marrow metabolism has been greatly assisted by MRI and PET-CT technology. One could argue that current densitometry techniques and even high-resolution imaging techniques are diagnosing osteoporosis too late. By the time osteoporosis is recognized by densitometric techniques, bone strength is already significantly impaired. Also, predicting which subjects with normal bone density or low bone mass will progress to bone loss and impairment of bone strength is not accurate enough to select those who would benefit from osteoporotic treatment. In addition, osteoporosis is associated with several other conditions such as steroid use, atherosclerosis, vascular calcification, diabetes, dyslipidemia, and Alzheimer disease though the pathogenetic mechanisms linking these diseases to osteoporosis are not fully understood. One can appreciate, given the numerous interactions between the bone marrow and mineralized bone, that the answers to these questions may be found in study of the bone marrow.

Study of any tissue initially requires an appreciation of the normal structure and microenvironment of this tissue as well as the physiological age-related changes that occur. For the first time, MRI and, to a lesser extent, PET imaging have allowed noninvasive study of the bone marrow on a large scale. This chapter addresses physiological age-related changes that occur in the bone marrow and how these changes may influence changes in the adjacent hard tissue of bone.

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Abbreviations

ADC:

Apparent diffusion coefficient

BMD:

Bone mineral density

BMI:

Body mass index

CT:

Computed tomography

E max :

Maximal signal intensity enhancement

E slope :

Enhancement slope

FDG:

18F-flurodeoxyglucose

K el :

Arterial input-function elimination ­constant

K ex :

Arterial input-function capillary ­exchange constant

K trans :

Arterial input-function transport constant

MR:

Magnetic resonance

MRI:

Magnetic resonance imaging

PET:

Positron emission tomography

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Imaging and Interventional Radiology, Prince of Wales Hospital, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, Hong Kong

    James F. Griffith MB, BAO, BCh, MRCP, FRCR, FHKAM (radiology)

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  1. James F. Griffith MB, BAO, BCh, MRCP, FRCR, FHKAM (radiology)
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Correspondence to James F. Griffith MB, BAO, BCh, MRCP, FRCR, FHKAM (radiology) .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Viale Cappuccini 1, San Giovanni Rotondo,Foggia, 71013, Italy

    Giuseppe Guglielmi

  2. , Diagnostic Radiology, Khoo Teck Puat Hospital, Yishun Central 90, Singapore, 768828, Singapore

    Wilfred C. G. Peh

  3. Dept. Radiology, Boston University School of Medicine, E. Newton St. 88, Boston, 02118, Massachusetts, USA

    Ali Guermazi

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Griffith, J.F. (2013). Age-Related Physiological Changes of the Bone Marrow and Immune System. In: Guglielmi, G., Peh, W., Guermazi, A. (eds) Geriatric Imaging. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-35579-0_34

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-35579-0_34

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