Alterations of bone metabolism in patients with chronic C virus hepatitis

Patients affected with chronic hepatitis are prone to alterations in bone metabolism, osteoporosis and osteopoenia being the most common manifestations. Bone mineral densitometry is the method of choice for assessing bone mass; nevertheless, this is a static parameter whereas biochemical markers of bone remodelling reveal the dynamics of bone resorption and formation. With this study we used bone mineral densitometry and biochemical markers to evaluate bone metabolism in a group of male patients with chronic C virus hepatitis and in a group of healthy males. In the hepatitis group 56% of the patients proved osteopoenic or osteoporotic and bone depletion increased as the histological score of the disease increased. Crosslaps are a parameter of osteoclastic activity: their measurement showed alterations in all the age groups of the hepatitis patients studied, which goes to show that there is intense bone remodelling in these individuals due mainly to osteoclastic resorption. Hepatitis C is a risk factor for bone depletion: we believe that when this type of hepatitis is diagnosed it is useful to assess bone metabolism with bone mineral densitometry and with the crosslaps assay.