The occurrence of osteoporotic fractures may seriously compromise the
quality of life of lung transplant recipients. However, at present, th
e true risk of osteoporosis in such patients is unknown, We therefore
prospectively evaluated bone mass changes in patients undergoing pulmo
nary transplantation. Bone mineral density (BMD) of lumbar spine (LS),
femoral neck (FN) and Femoral shaft (FS), as well as whole body bone
mineral content (WB-BMC) were measured in 21 consecutive candidates fo
r lung transplantation (9 males and 12 females; mean+/-SD, age 47+/-11
yrs), Twelve of the patients had their BMD remeasured within 6 months
after surgery, and nine again after 1 year. Before transplantation, B
MD at all sites as well as WB-BMC were significantly decreased as comp
ared to the values in young healthy adults, FN being the most affected
(FN -25+/-2%; LS, -12+/-4%; FS -9+/-2%, WB-BMC -15+/-4% (mean+/-SEM))
. Seven out of 20 adult patients (35%) fulfilled World Health Organiza
tion (WHO) criteria for osteoporosis, i.e. BMD more than 2.5 SD below
peak bone mass, whereas three had previously been diagnosed as having
osteoporotic fractures of the spine or femoral neck, Within 6 months a
fter transplantation, significant bone loss occurred, mostly at the LS
level (-4.0+/-1.7%; p=0.04), despite calcium and vitamin D supplement
ation. Furthermore, two patients had new osteoporotic vertebral fractu
res, After 1 year, no further bone loss or new osteoporotic fractures
were observed. In conclusion, evaluation of bone mass and prevention o
f bone loss should be considered early before lung transplantation. Fu
rther studies are needed to determine the efficacy of antiresorptive d
rugs on the prevention of accelerated bone loss and vertebral fracture
s after transplantation.