Measurements and Evaluation of Proximal Femoral Bone Mineral Density with Dual Energy X-ray Absorptiometry

Proximal femoral bone mineral density (BMD) can be measured by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry method in the neck, trochanter, intertrochanter, total and Ward's triangle area. Ward's triangle area of the proximal femur is a smaller area to measure than the others, and the position varies, depending on the status of inner rotation of the target leg. In this study, the measurements of the proximal femoral BMD in women were carried out on the neck, trochanter, intertrochanter, total and Ward's triangle area with the, subjects' legs turned 15 degrees toward the inside. The Ward's BMD were measured using Ward's cognitive method, in which the measured BMD were compared among age groups of 50-59, 60-69, 70-79 and 80-89 to determine whether this process could reveal decreased femoral BMD in elderly women. The correlation between BMD and age was tested using the Pearson correlation coefficient. In all measured parts, the BMD of women age 50-59 were significantly higher than those of women age 80-89. The correlations between BMD and age were negative in all measured parts, and the most negative correlation was between age and Ward's BMD. The study using Ward's cognitive method showed an inverse correlation between Ward's BMD and age in women

Sonographic analysis of hyoid bone movement during swallowing

金沢大学医薬保健研究域保健学系Purpose: Videofluoroscopy is generally considered a "gold standard" technique; however t technique exposes subjects to radiation. Ultrasonography is applied widely in clinical practice because of low cost, safety of the technique, and absence of radiation exposure. The aim of this study was to evaluate hyoid bone movement trajectories during swallowing in healthy subjects using ultrasonography.Subject and Methods: Data were obtained from 15 healthy volunteers (mean age: 34.9± 9.3).The subjects were divided into 3 groups: 5 subjects in their 20s, 5 subjects in their 30s and 5 subjects in their 40s. The subjects were examined while sitting in an upright position, with the back against a wall to control movement. The transducer was placed in a longitudinal scan above the larynx. The hyoid bone was identified on the scan as a high echoic area with posterior acoustic shadow. Then, the subjects swallowed 5 mL of mineral water, with a measurement frequency of 5 times. The digital-ultrasonographic recordings were viewed at 30 frames/s for 3 seconds. Results: The movement was divided into 4 phases: A, slowly ascending phase; B, rapidly ascending phase; C, temporary pause phase (position of maximum rise); D, rapid and slow descending shifts toward the resting position phase. We easily visualized the hyoid bone trajectory using ultrasonography. In all cases, ultrasonographic analysis of the hyoid bone was confirmed to have a similar trajectory as determined with videofluoroscopy. Ultrasonography can accurately determine swallowing duration and trajectory of hyoid bone movement. There was a significant difference in swallowing duration between the 20s groups and 30s groups and between the 20s groups and 40s groups (P < 0.05). However, the difference between the 30s group and 40s group was not significant (P=0.87).Conclusion: The results show that the dynamic phase image of the hyoid bone movement can be revealed by ultrasonographic visualization. © 2009 Springer Berlin Heidelberg

Relationship between Bone Mineral Density and Body Composition Estimated by Dual-Energy X-ray Absorptiometry : Comparison between Groups Aged 20-39 and 40-59 Years

Bone mineral density (BMD) is affected by lean body mass and body weight to various degrees in the course of aging. The attempt of this study is to determine the optimal time to begin prevention of osteoporosis. In this study, female hospital employees aged 20-59 years were divided into 2 age groups, 20-39 years and 40-59 years based on age at peak BMD, and the relations of total BMD, subtotal BMD and lumbar spine BMD to lean body mass and body weight were examined in both groups. Subtotal BMD was calculated by subtracting head BMD from total BMD along with whole body measurement. While persistent positive correlations were found among all factors in the 20-39-year-old group, subtotal BMD and lumbar spine BMD were positively correlated to lean body mass in the 40-59-year-old group. Thus, lean body mass and body weight appeared to exert a profound influence on subtotal BMD in those aged 20-39 years, but lean body mass in those aged 40-59 years. Lean body mass appears to provide the best prediction of subsequent development of osteoporosis