Imaging techniques to study diabetic bone disease

Purpose of review This review article presents the most recent research on bone fragility in individuals with diabetes from a medical imaging perspective. Recent findings The widespread availability of dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) and trabecular bone score (TBS) software has led to recent assessments of bone fragility with this texture parameter in several studies of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2D), but in few of type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1D). Although most studies show a trend of reduced TBS values in T2D independent of areal bone mineral density (aBMD) of the lumbar spine, some studies also show the limitations of TBS in both T2D and T1D. Given the limitations of DXA to assess bone strength and investigate the etiology of bone fragility in diabetes, more investigators are incorporating three-dimensional (3D) medical imaging techniques in their studies. Recent use of 3D medical imaging to assess bone fragility in the setting of diabetes has been mostly limited to a few cross-sectional studies predominantly incorporating high-resolution peripheral quantitative computed tomography (HR-pQCT). Although HR-pQCT studies indicate higher tibial cortical porosity in subjects with T2D, results are inconsistent in T1D due to differences in study designs, sample sizes, and subject characteristics, among other factors. With respect to central CT, recent studies support a previous finding in the literature indicating femoral neck geometrical impairments in subjects with T2D and provide encouraging results for the incorporation of finite element analysis (FEA) to assess bone strength in studies of T2D. In the recent literature, there are no studies assessing bone fragility in T1D with QCT, and only two studies used pQCT reporting tibial and radial impairments in young women and children with T1D, respectively. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has not been recently used in diabetic studies of bone fragility. As bone fragility in diabetes is not explained by DXA-derived aBMD and given the limitations of cross-sectional studies, it is imperative to use 3D imaging techniques for longitudinal assessments of the density, quality, and microenvironment of bone to improve our understanding of the effects of diabetes on bone and reduce the risk of fracture in this large and vulnerable population of subjects with diabetes.

Automated summary

This review article presents recent research on bone fragility in individuals with diabetes from a medical imaging perspective. The use of dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) and trabecular bone score (TBS) software has allowed for assessments of bone fragility in type 2 diabetes (T2D), but there is limited research on type 1 diabetes (T1D). Three-dimensional medical imaging techniques, such as high-resolution peripheral quantitative computed tomography (HR-pQCT), have been used to assess bone fragility in diabetes, but there are inconsistent results. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has not been recently used in diabetic studies of bone fragility. Longitudinal assessments using 3D imaging techniques are important for understanding the effects of diabetes on bone and reducing the risk of fractures in this vulnerable population.