Bone histomorphometric analysis in a patient with anorexia nervosa

A 34-year-old Japanese woman with anorexia nervosa (AN) of a body mass index (BMI) of 11.0 kg/cm2 was admitted to our hospital for assessment of renal dysfunction with a serum creatinine of 1.8 mg/dL and hypokalemia (3.0 mEq/L). Renal biopsy showed chronic interstitial fibrosis with hypertrophy of the juxtaglomerular apparatus. Iliac crest biopsy was performed because of a severe decrease in bone mineral density. It showed active resorption at the periosteal and endosteal surfaces of cortical bone by numerous osteoclasts, as well as bone island formation in cancellous bone due to marked decrease of trabecular connections. A dynamic study using double labeling showed that mineralization of cancellous bone adjacent to cortical bone occurred between the first and second labelings, but did not occur between the second labeling and osteoid formation during the 28-day period before biopsy, which implied that the mineralization was related to promotion of food intake after hospitalization, while the lack of mineralization was due to poor food intake outside hospital. Empty lacunae that indicated the death of osteocytes were seen. Because her bone mass and kidney injury improved after weight gain and normokalemia were achieved by a highly nutritious diet, malnutrition with hypokalemia may have a negative influence on bone formation due to impaired mineralization and may activate bone resorption by osteoclasts secondary to the formation of empty lacunae. This is the first report about the histological features of premenopausal osteoporosis in a patient with AN and kidney injury.