Plasma vascular endothelial growth factor levels are similar in subjects with and without osteoporosis

Objectives: The relation between serum vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) level and bone mineral density (BMD) value was evaluated to investigate the role of VEGF at etiopathogenesis of the osteoporosis. Patients and methods: Bone scanning with dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) was performed on a total of 276 patients more than 40 years of age between September 2007 and January 2008 in our hospital's radiology department. A total of 88 patients (44 females; mean age 62.8+/-12.2 year, 44 males; mean age 58.7+/-12.1 year) meeting the study criteria were included. These patients formed four groups; osteoporotic male patients (group MO, n=22, BMD<-2.5), normal males (group MN, n=22, BMD>-1), osteoporotic female patients (group FO, n=22, BMD<-2.5), and normal females (group FN, n=22, BMD>-1). Bone mineral density measurements were performed with DEXA. Serum VEGF level was determined by the endogenous human ELISA kit. The relationships between body mass index (BMI), age, BMD and serum VEGF levels were analyzed. Results: The difference between male and female participants in terms of serum VEGF levels was not statistically significant (p>0.05). The differences in terms of mean VEGF values between the MO and MN groups and the FO and FN groups were not statistically significant (p>0.05). In MN cases, BMD was negatively correlated with VEGF levels (p<0.05). In MO group, the correlation between BMD and serum VEGF levels was not statistically significant (p>0.05). Conclusion: Although the plasma levels of osteoporotic subjects are relatively higher than in the normal groups, this was not statistically significant in either male or female subjects. The small sample size could be a reason for this insignificance. The negative correlation between serum VEGF and BMD levels in the MN group was not present in the MO group. When the various effects of serum VEGF on bone metabolism are taken into account, to clarify the pathophysiology of male osteoporosis, this association between BMD values and VEGF in male population must be investigated in further studies.