[Clinical significance of direct measurement of bone mineral content. 125I photon absorption measurement in 1252 cases].

1252 patients were examined by 125I-photonabsorptiometry, a non-invasive method for direct determination of bone mineral content. These patients were divided into 21 groups with different diagnoses including primary skeletal disorders and diseases of internal medicine (endocrine, gastrointestinal, renal) with possible secondary skeletal involvement. The findings are analyzed on the basis of well established own normal ranges, which were obtained from determinations on 1058 healthy people. The well reproducible and quantitative results allow to cover the frequency and severity of deficits in bone mineral mass occurring with the diseases mentioned above. As examples the findings in primary hyperparathyroidism and in chronic renal insufficiency before and during hemodialysis are shown in more detail. While the radiation exposure is practically negligible, control measurements can be performed regularly, which supply a good judgement of the course of disease with and without treatment.