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| |  Independent Study Suggests Role For Urine Test In Predicting Osteoporosis SEATTLE -- July 22, 1997 -- A study published on June 9 in the Archives of Internal Medicine reveals new information on the predictive value of urinary N-Telopeptide (NTx) levels in osteoporosis. The article reports findings from physicians at the University of California, San Diego, that link levels of urinary NTx with normal, osteopenic and osteoporotic bone mineral density (BMD) levels in older men and women. NTx is a breakdown product of mature bone that is measured by the lab test, Osteomark(R). In their paper, Doctors Diane L. Schneider and Elizabeth L. Barrett-Connor conclude that "using sex-specific peak bone mass criteria and age-adjusted analysis, the levels of NTx uniquely discriminated between older adults with normal, osteopenic or osteoporotic BMD levels. If confirmed, these data suggest that NTx levels could be used to predict current osteoporosis in older men and women." Conclusions are based on research from 961 men and women from Rancho Bernardo, Calif., aged 50 to 98 years. Of the 961 participants, 374 were men an 587 were women, of whom 223 were current estrogen users. Findings from this study may lead to future uses of Osteomark, which is currently intended for use in predicting skeletal response to hormone replacement therapy (HRT) in postmenopausal women, and therapeutic monitoring of estrogen-suppressing therapies or antiresorptive therapies in postmenopausal women and individuals diagnosed with osteoporosis or Paget's disease of bone. The Archives of Internal Medicine article comes at a time when the areas of osteoporosis prevention and treatment are receiving substantial attention. According to the National Osteoporosis Foundation, 28 million Americans are affected by osteoporosis, a disease that costs the U.S. healthcare system $14 billion annually. With approximately 4,000 North American women entering menopause every day, these numbers are expected to increase substantially over the next decade. These trends, and the emergence of new therapeutic options, heighten the need for sensitive diagnostics to measure the process of bone turnover. Clinicians use bone mass measurement in combination with lab tests in the initial osteoporosis work-up, and then can use a test such a Osteomark (the NTx test) again within three to six months after starting medication to confirm the effect of antiresorptive therapies such as HRT or Fosamax(R) on bone. The test is also frequently used to predict the skeletal benefit a woman will receive from hormone replacement therapy (HRT). Osteomark is manufactured by Ostex International Inc. of Seattle.
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