Bone and soft tissue changes in paraplegic patients.

The loss of bone mineral in 66 paraplegic patients has been measured in the lower femoral shaft by scanning the leg with a beam of mono-energetic radiation from 241Am. The profile of the transmitted radiation was used to determine a parameter which was related to bone mass. The bone mass of paraplegic patients was significantly lower than normal. Persistent paralysis does not lead to a continued fall in bone mass, but once it has fallen, bone mass remains constant. Soft tissues also showed a muscle/fat ratio was lower than normal.