Re: HCV, Combo & Osteoporosis

Posted By Mary Ann/JOHN,..I BROKE A RIB ALSO,.. on April 12, 1999 at 23:11:02:

In Reply to: HCV, Combo & Osteoporosis posted by John W on April 11, 1999 at 21:17:02:






: After non responding to a year of Rebatron therapy,
: I've recently been diagnosed with "severe osteoporosis",
: my bone density is 44% lower than it should be for a 52 year old
: male. I'm seeing an endocrinologist in a week and am wondering
: if any one is aware of other cases where osteoporosis and HCV
: or its treatments might be related.
Thanks




Dear John and Mary Ann:
I was really intrigued about your questions.  I have not really thought much about hepatitis C, interferon and osteoporosis and your questions gave me an opportunity to do so.
I did some computerized literature searches.  I found a couple of articles that found a correlation between viral hepatitis (hepatitis is a viral hepatitis) and osteoporosis.  I found these article very intriguing and it is a reminder for me to keep aware of this problem in my patients.  Especially now that we have good treatments for osteoporosis.  This is the reference for one article.  It is in the journal Hepatology.  Any good sized medical library should have it.
Gallego-Rojo FJ. Gonzalez-Calvin JL. Munoz-Torres M. Mundi JL. Fernandez-Perez R. Rodrigo-Moreno D. Bone mineral density, serum insulin-like growth factor I, and bone turnover markers in viral cirrhosis. Hepatology. 28(3):695-9, 1998 Sep.
Ironically, I couldnt find any articles about the effect of interferon on osteoporosis.  As a result, I will be very interested in the article that Mary Ann knows about.  I always ask MedHelp correspondents who know about articles to give us the reference for the article instead of just telling us what the article says.  That way, we can all decide for ourselves whether the article is valid.  It is important to remember that few patients with hepatitis C are on interferon or interferon and ribavirin for more than a year which gives their bones a chance to recover after therapy is completed.  
I hope this information is helpful to you.  If you have additional information or questions, I would invite you to post the material to MEDHELP or to contact us directly at Henry Ford [phone]. We have an active group of liver specialists and we have a strong interest in and experience with hepatitis C and liver transplant.










I broke it by simply bending over. Nothing Else. That is why Mayo did the bone scan. I don't have cirrhosis,..only thing I have ever done was the 4 month treatment with Interferon. I'm rather tenacious when I set my mind to something,..and I will be searching this often. I will be asking Patients to get bone scans 5-10 years after ceasing Interferon. IF IT CAUSES BONE LOSS..this is something I want to know. I have heard the "BONE BUILDING" medicines are hard on the liver. So CATCH 22!!! G-d Bless, Mary Ann









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