12 – Recent Advances

TLDR: This chapter provides an overview on the growing points in biochemical disorders of the skeleton as it clearly has other important functions in basement membranes, in platelet aggregation and in tissues, such as muscle, during their development.

Abstract: Publisher Summary This chapter provides an overview on the growing points in biochemical disorders of the skeleton. One of the most striking aspects of collagen is its almost universal distribution. No longer should it be regarded merely as a protein of fibrous tissues, as it clearly has other important functions in basement membranes, in platelet aggregation and in tissues, such as muscle, during their development. Calcitonin may be measured within the physiological range in plasma, though the recorded normal values differ according to the method used. In 1978, Hillyard, Stevenson, and Maclntyre confirmed that levels of immunoreactive calcitonin are low in women compared with men, and are increased by oral oestrogen — progestagen pills, and by pregnancy.