bone growth index

Bone Alkaline Phosphatase is the bone-specific isoform of alkaline phosphatase. A glycoprotein that is found on the surface of osteoblasts, BAP reflects the biosynthetic activity of these bone-forming cells. BAP has been shown to be a sensitive and reliable indicator of bone metabolism. Normal bone is constantly undergoing remodeling in which bone degradation or resorption is balanced by bone formation. This process is necessary for maintaining bone health. If the process becomes uncoupled and the rate of resorption exceeds the rate of formation, the resulting bone loss can lead to osteoporosis and, consequently, a higher susceptibility to fractures.

Bone Healing or fracture healing, is a proliferative physiological process in which the body facilitates the repair of a bone fracture. Generally bone fracture treatment consists of a doctor reducing (pushing) displaced bones back into place via relocation with or without anesthetic, stabilizing their position to aid union, and then waiting for the bone’s natural healing process to occur. Adequate nutrient intake has been found to significantly affect the integrity of the fracture repair. Age, bone type, drug therapy and pre-existing bone pathology are factors which affect healing. The role of bone healing is to produce new bone without a scar as seen in other tissues which would be a structural weakness or deformity.

Cartilage healing, whether or not cartilage heals on its own depends on your age. Cartilage consists of collagen, the most abundant protein in the body. The collagen matrix of human cartilage becomes essentially permanent sometime in the teen years. After about age 15 or 16 there is no collagen regeneration in the cartilage. Your body, on its own, cannot regenerate the cartilage it loses in its adult years. However, in some cases, damaged cartilage will repair itself with tissue that is not the same and is closer to a scar-like tissues. In other cases, the cartilage may heal with higher quality tissue. In any event, allowing healing to take place is better than not having it happen at all.

The Epiphyseal Line is the part of the bone that replaces the epiphyseal growth plate in long bones once a person has reached their full adult height. Either rounded end of a long bone is called an epiphysis, and the shaft of the bone is called the diaphysis. The epiphyseal line is the marking that indicates where the two parts of the bone meet and where the epiphyseal plate was once located in children and young adults. An epiphyseal line is visible on a standard x-ray. It looks like a thin dark streak that stretches horizontally across the rounded ends of the bone. The line may be slightly raised and rougher than the surrounding bone. A person with abnormal bone growth may have a visible crack or an uneven line showing on an x-ray. Formation of this line takes place over many years. When the growth rate slows down after puberty, the cells stop the process of replication and all bone growth eventually stops. Ossification, the hardening of cells into bone, of the epiphyseal plate occurs when osteoblasts transform the cartilage cells found in the growth plate into bone. Once the entire growth plate is ossified, the epiphyseal line has formed.

Osteocalcin is the most abundant non-collagenous protein found in bone, comprising almost 2% of total protein in the human body. It is important in bone metabolism and is used as a clinical marker for bone turnover, but its precise function remains elusive.