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Age-Related Changes in the Bone Marrow

  • Geriatrics (G Guglielmi, Section Editor)
  • Published:
Current Radiology Reports Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose of Review

To summarize current knowledge with regards to age-related changes in the bone marrow from childhood to senility and discuss how these changes are affected in patients with osteoporosis.

Recent Findings

There is a dramatic increase in marrow fat content in females around the time of the menopause in line with a reduction in bone mass. Marrow fat content is very responsive to physiological changes in estrogen and increase in marrow fat can be reversed by estrogen replacement. Marrow fat composition, rather than content, seems to be related to insufficiency fracture and diabetes.

Summary

MR imaging is a very good way of non-invasively studying marrow fat changes throughout life—both content and composition. Marrow fat content is an inverse marker of red marrow content. Red marrow content drives bone perfusion. Bone perfusion affects marrow nutrition and bone healing. Research into the fascinating bone-fat-perfusion relationship has only just began.

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

    James F. Griffith

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James F. Griffith declares no potential conflicts of interest.

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This article is part of the Topical Collection on Geriatrics.

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Griffith, J.F. Age-Related Changes in the Bone Marrow. Curr Radiol Rep 5, 24 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40134-017-0218-8

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