Clinical usefulness of serum tartrate-resistant fluoride-sensitive acid phosphatase activity in evaluating bone turnover.

This study was carried out to evaluate the clinical validity and usefulness of serum tartrate-resistant fluoride-sensitive acid phosphatase (TrFsACP) activity using 2,6-dichloro-4-acetylphenyl phosphate as substrate at pH 6.2 in metabolic bone diseases. The mean Z-scores of TrFsACP activity in patients on hemodialysis were higher than in healthy subjects (male: 2.04+/-1.98, n = 49, P < .05; female: 1.49+/-2.43, n = 39, P < .05) and increased with duration of hemodialysis (r = .516, P < .01). Bone alkaline phosphatase also was found to be significantly higher in hemodialysis patients (male: 0.93+/-1.49, P < .05; female: 1.66+/-2.42, P < .05) compared with normal subjects: but had lower correlation with duration of hemodialysis than TrFsACP (r = .277, P < .05). Ulcerative colitis (1.37+/-2.21, n = 15) in males showed a significantly higher Z-score of TrFsACP compared with control subjects (P < .05). The relationship of TrFsACP activity and ultrasound findings (stiffness; speed of sound [SOS]; broadband ultra sound attenuation [BUA]) in healthy women aged 30-75 years (n = 95) were inversely and significantly correlated with stiffness (r = -.465, P < .01 ), SOS (r = -.484, P < .01), and BUA (r = -.366, P < .01), but were age dependent. TrFsACP activity significantly correlated with stiffness (r = -.521, P < .05) and SOS (r = -.527, P < .05) only in the age group of 46-55 years. BUA (r = -.313, P > .05) did not correlate significantly in any subject in the present study. We conclude that serum TrFsACP activity is useful in the diagnosis and monitoring of bone turnover.