AGE-RELATED-CHANGES IN ILIAC CREST TRABECULAR MICROANATOMIC BONE-STRUCTURE IN MAN

Age-related changes in the microanatomic structure of human iliac crest trabecular bone have been investigated in biopsies from 90 subjects, using a new computerised method which automatically identifies and quantifies nodes, free ends and a number of topologically defined struts. In both sexes there was a significant age-related decrease in the number of nodes and of trabecular struts, corrected for section area. In females, there was also a significant age-related decrease in the node to free end ratio (P < 0.001), and the combined node-to-node and node-to-loop strut length, expressed as a percentage of total strut length (P < 0.001) and a significant increase in free end to free end strut length (P < 0.001) in males, the only additional age-related change was a significant increase in the cortex to free end strut length (P < 0.005). These results indicate that loss of trabeculae resulting in decreased interconnectedness of the normal trabecular bone structural pattern, plays an important role in age-related bone loss in females. Removal of trabeculae also occurs in males but is less prominent, implying that trabecular thinning makes a greater contribution to age-related bone loss in males.