OSTEOMALACIA AND OSTEOPOROSIS IN A WOMAN WITH ANKYLOSING-SPONDYLITIS

Three months postpartum, a 33-year-old woman with ankylosing spondylit is (AS) suffered multiple vertebral fractures, Bone mineral density wa s 61-67% of age-matched normal values at the lumbar spine and proximal femur, and an initial iliac crest bone biopsy revealed osteoporosis a nd osteomalacia. Secondary causes of bone disease were excluded, and t he patient was treated with calcium, vitamin D, and nasal spray calcit onin (400 u/day). Over 4 years, she has shown partial recovery of bone mass and almost complete resolution of osteomalacia. Osteoporosis and fracture occur in patients with AS, yet this case represents a rare a ssociation between AS and both osteomalacia and postpregnancy spinal o steoporosis.