Mechanisms of development of alcohol-dependant osteoporosis

Presented were the current published data on the mutual influence of different factors on the initiation and progression of disorders of formation of the bone organic matrix and its mineralization during chronic ethanol intoxication. Emphasized was the role of the toxic effect of ethanol on the osteoblastic cells, which is expressed in the increasing viscosity of the cytoplasm, disruption of the architectonics of the cytoplasmic membrane, disorganization of the polyribosomal complexes and reduction of the collagen synthesis functions. Established was the role of immune pathology, which included the formation of antibodies to a number of autogenous tissues. Found were antibodies to collagen type I, which was modified by acetaldehyde and possessed cytotoxicity. In patients with alcohol dependence noted was an increase in the concentration of interleukin-6, which stimulates the early stages of hematopoiesis and osteoclastogenesis. The mechanism of development of alcohol-dependant osteoporosis is understood as a cascade of related processes, which are linked in the circulus vitiosus. Only the initial stages of this cascade have certain specificity. The morphological consequences are mostly similar and do not differ from those of other forms of secondary systemic osteoporosis, however give the characteristic features to the clinical course.

alcohol-dependant osteoporosis, bone mineral density, bone resorption, bone formation