SERUM AND URINE MARKERS OF TYPE-I COLLAGEN-METABOLISM IN ELDERLY WOMEN WITH HIGH AND LOW BONE-MINERAL DENSITY

The serum markers of bone formation (carboxy-terminal propeptide of ty pe I collagen, PICP) and resorption (pyridinoline cross-links containi ng telopeptide of type I collagen, ICTP), as well as urinary resorptio n markers, pyridinoline (Pyr) and deoxypyridinoline (Dpyr), were studi ed in 78-year-old women with high (n = 18) and low (n = 17) bone miner al density (BMD) measured from the calcaneus and tibia. The low-BMD gr oup had higher values for PICP (P = 0.025), Pyr (P = 0.001) and Dpyr ( P < 0.001) than the high-BMD group. No inverse relationship between th ese markers and BMD was, however, observed within the study groups. IC TP, Pyr and Dpyr correlated with each other in both groups and with PI CP in the high-BMD group. Higher levels of both the formation and reso rption markers of type I collagen suggest an increased rate of bone tu rnover and remodelling in osteopenic elderly women.