Biochemical Disorders of the Skeleton

Biochemical Disorders of the Skeleton explores the biochemical and clinical aspects of skeletal disorders, including osteoporosis, osteomalacia, Paget's disease of bone, osteogenesis imperfecta, and Marfan's syndrome. Homocystinuria, Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, mucopolysaccharidoses, hyperphosphatasia and hypophosphatasia, and fibrous dysplasia are also considered. Comprised of 12 chapters, this book begins with an overview of the physiology of bone, with emphasis on the structures produced by bone cells and the different hormones that influence them. The symptoms, signs, and investigation of metabolic bone disease are then described and compared. The following chapters focus on the biochemistry and clinical aspects of disorders affecting the skeleton, from osteoporosis and osteomalacia to Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, fibrous dysplasia, osteopetroses and hyperostoses, and fibrogenesis imperfecta ossium. The final chapter offers a short description of advances that have been made in understanding these biochemical disorders, including the significance of low-plasma calcitonin in women; the role of mithramycin in Paget's disease; and the identification of the different types of osteogenesis imperfecta. This monograph will be a valuable resource for physicians, pediatricians, and orthopedic surgeons.