[Assessment of bone quality. Bone quality of steroid-induced osteoporosis].

Steroid-induced osteoporosis has been reported to show reduced osteoblastic bone formation and accelerated osteoclastic bone resorption. However, a fracture risk of patients with steroid-induced osteoporosis is higher than an assumed risk merely estimated by the bone mineral density, and therefore, bone quality appears to be reduced in the steroid-induced osteoporosis. Precious mechanism how steroid can reduce the quality of bone is still veiled, but one possible explanation may be osteocytes' apoptosis by steroid, probably resulting in the failure of their maintaining of bone minerals and mechanosensing in bone.