Children who are suffering from Childhood Nephrotic Syndrome and administered with steroid drugs do not suffer from bone loss, as per a recently published study.

This syndrome, which affects three out of every one hundred thousand children, is believed to be the most common form of chronic kidney ailment in young children. It is considered to weaken ability of a young body by eliminating the presence of water and salt from the blood. This elimination results in swelling of the belly, legs, and region around eyes.

As per pediatric nephrologist Mary B. Leonard, M.D., of The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and lead author of the study, the nephrotic syndrome can be effectively and easily treated with steroid therapy when compared to treatment for other child diseases treated with steroid drugs.

From News-Medical.net:

The team led by Dr. Leonard compared 60 children and adolescents with steroid-sensitive nephrotic syndrome to 195 healthy children. Specialized X- ray measurements showed no signs of osteoporosis, a loss in bone mass, among the nephrotic syndrome patients. The study appeared in the August 26 New England Journal of Medicine.

The researchers made adjustments for body mass index, an important consideration, since 38 percent of the children in the nephrotic syndrome sample were obese (in contrast, only 16 percent of the control subjects were obese, a proportion consistent with the general pediatric population). The disproportionate obesity among children with nephrotic syndrome disappears after the patients discontinue steroid treatments.

“While steroids tend to make children shorter and heavier than healthy children, increased weight is associated with an increase in bone mass,” said co-author Babette Zemel, Ph.D., of the Nutrition Center at Children’s Hospital. Specifically, whole-body measurements of bone mineral content were higher in children with nephrotic syndrome than in healthy children.

A possible explanation for the increased bone mass, she added, is that the extra physical load imposed by higher weight may stimulate the bones to grow stronger. Obesity may also induce hormones to increase bone mass.

Bone health in childhood strongly influences bone health in later life- including the degree to which older adults are vulnerable to osteoporosis- related fractures. “This report may help reassure doctors and parents that using steroids to treat children with nephrotic syndrome does not raise their risk of osteoporosis,” said Dr. Leonard. “There is some evidence that obesity raises a child’s risk of fracture, but this may be due to the force of a heavy child falling on an outstretched arm-and not to a weakening of the bone.”

It was noticed during the study that complete body measurements of the bone mineral content of children suffering from this syndrome was higher than that of the healthy children, as per co-author of this study, Babette Zemel, Ph.D., of the Nutrition Center at Children’s Hospital.

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