Correlations of lipid metabolism with bone remodeling

Introduction. Both dyslipidemia and osteoporosis are chro­nic medical problems, and the relationship between these two pathologies is based on common risk factors and patho­genic mechanisms which favour the development of both diseases. Dyslipidemia can be a risk factor for osteoporosis, therefore it is important to understand the me­cha­nisms underlying the relation between these two pathologies. The link between dyslipidemia and osteoporosis. Lipo­pro­tein oxidation products suppress the differentiation of osteoblasts while stimulating the differentiation of adi­po­cytes and their proliferation, a mechanisms that can con­tri­bute to the reduction of bone mineralization and the oc­cur­rence of inflammatory events. A number of clinical and ex­pe­ri­men­tal studies have been performed, these studies sug­ges­ting an inverse correlation between the adipose con­tent of the bone marrow and the density of the bone tis­sue, in other words, in parallel with the osteoporotic bone loss there is an increase of the adipocyte content in the bone marrow. The role of plasma lipids on bone me­ta­bo­lism. Because in clinic patients with dyslipidemia are often diagnosed with osteoporosis, we can say that serum levels of plasma lipids influence both osteoblastic and osteoclastic activity. Cholesterol correlates with low bone mineral density, while triglycerides are associated with a low incidence of vertebral fractures in osteoporotic wo­men. Effects of lipid-lowering medication on bone tis­sue. Statins, first introduced to treat patients with hyper­li­pi­de­mia and hypercholesterolemia, have also been shown to be beneficial for osteoporotic patients and have recently been introduced to prevent fractures and treat osteoporosis through their ability to enhance osteogenesis and inhibit os­teo­clas­to­ge­ne­sis. Conclusions.There is a wide range of studies that have shown that statins, widely used as lipid-lowering agents, could also be utilized in the treatment of osteo­po­rosis, through the beneficial effects they have on bone metabolism, effects with a positive impact on bone mineral density.