Is quantitative ultrasound a reliable monitoring test for AED-associated bone disease?
Supervisor: Professor John Wark, Location: Department of Medicine (RMH) Contact details: 9342 7109 Email: jdwark@unimelb.edu.au Aims: To assess quantitative bone ultrasound (QUS) measures compared with dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA) and peripheral quantitative computed tomography (pQCT) in subjects taking anti-epileptic drugs (AEDs) and their non-AED exposed twins or siblings Background: Epilepsy is the most common serious chronic neurological disease. Most people with active epilepsy take an AED for many years to prevent seizures. Patients taking AEDs have high rates of bone fractures. The reasons for this major adverse effect are likely multifactorial, including an effect of the AEDs resulting in bone fragility. Decreased bone mineral density (BMD) and increased rates of osteoporosis have been demonstrated in people taking long-term AEDs. QUS is a convenient, economical method with potential utility to monitor patients for osteoporosis and fracture risk Research Plan: Patient
