Does "hepatic osteodystrophy" differ from peri- and postmenopausal osteoporosis? A histomorphometric study.

Bone remodeling activities were assayed on undecalcified sections of iliac crest biopsies obtained from patients with primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) (n = 25), postmenopausal osteoporosis (n = 64), and age, sex-matched, nonosteoporotic peri- and postmenopausal subjects (n = 26). Thorough semiautomated static and dynamic bone histomorphometry was carried out. Statistical analysis was performed among the age-matched groups in 10-year intervals through the ages 45 to 74. No osteomalacia or osteoporotic condition was detected in the patients with PBC. Our data have shown they did not have a mineralization defect but rather high bone turnover rates. The discrepancy of our observations to other published studies is discussed. We suggest that the osteoporotic condition attributed by others to PBC may just be the result of the concomitant aging processes.