Publications

Abstract OBJECTIVE Cathepsin K plays essential roles in bone resorption and is intensely investigated as a therapeutic target for the treatment of osteoporosis. Hence an assessment of the active form of cathepsin K may provide important biological information in metabolic bone diseases, such as osteoporosis or ankylosing spondylitis. METHODS Presently there are no robust assays […]

Abstract Loss of musculoskeletal mass and function is a natural ageing trait, reinforced by an unhealthy life style. Loss of bone (osteoporosis) and muscle (sarcopaenia) are conditions whose prevalence are increasing because of the change in population distribution in the western world towards an older mean age. Improvements in lifestyle factors, such as diet, smoking […]

Abstract The degree of inflammation in auto-immune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis is often assessed in serum and used for diagnostic and prognostic purposes. The serum levels of acute inflammatory signaling molecules (C-reactive protein and serum amyloid A) in conjunction with the important pro-inflammatory cytokines themselves may have limited utility due to several limitations. (1) […]

Abstract OBJECTIVE Oral salmon calcitonin (sCT) has demonstrated clinical efficacy in treating osteoporosis in postmenopausal women. The postmenopausal state is also associated with obesity-related insulin resistance (IR) and type 2 diabetes. The aim of this study was to investigate the preventive effects of oral sCT on energy and glucose homeostasis in high-fat diet (HFD)- and […]

Abstract The controversy surrounding the results from the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) trials published a decade ago caused a significant decline in the use of menopausal hormone replacement therapy. However, these results have been vehemently contested and several lines of evidence suggest that in perimenopausal and non-obese women, estrogen therapy may indeed be of benefit. […]

Abstract OBJECTIVE Joint health is affected by local and systemic hormones. It is well accepted that systemic factors regulate the metabolism of joint tissues, and that substantial cross-talk between tissues actively contributes to homeostasis. In the current review, we try to define a subtype of osteoarthritis (OA), metabolic OA, which is dependent on an unhealthy […]

Abstract BACKGROUND The proteoglycan biglycan (BGN) is involved in collagen fibril assembly and its fragmentation is likely to be associated with collagen turnover during the pathogenesis of diseases which involve dysregulated extracellular matrix remodeling (ECMR), such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and liver fibrosis. The scope of the present study was to develop a novel enzyme-linked […]

Abstract OBJECTIVE Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) has been considered a seronegative rheumatic disease based on absent or low levels of antibodies against citrullinated proteins. The present study was undertaken to evaluate whether a citrullinated and matrix metalloproteinase-degraded fragment of vimentin (VICM) could be a prognostic biomarker in AS. METHODS VICM was measured in serum samples from […]

Abstract BACKGROUND The skeletal muscle mass is the largest organ in the healthy body, comprising 30-40 % of the body weight of an adult man. It confers protection from trauma, locomotion, ventilation, and it represents a “sink” in glucose metabolism and a reservoir of amino acids to other tissues such as the brain and blood […]

Abstract Increased attention is paid to the structural components of tissues. These components are mostly collagens and various proteoglycans. Emerging evidence suggests that altered components and noncoded modifications of the matrix may be both initiators and drivers of disease, exemplified by excessive tissue remodeling leading to tissue stiffness, as well as by changes in the […]