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Myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) belong to the malignant diseases of the hematopoietic system that occur primarily in older adults. In patients with MDS, blood formation in bone marrow is impaired. Medical care therefore typically focuses on blood counts and the treatment of the resulting anemia and other changes in the blood profile; some patients also require regular blood transfusions. Until now, bone health has received less attention in cases of MDS.

The prospective study "Bone and Hematology in the Elderly" (BoHemE), initiated by researchers at Dresden University Hospital, now shows that people with MDS already had lower bone density than age-matched control subjects at the start of the study and continued to lose bone density over the course of three years. If osteoporosis was present at the start of the study, it was also associated with poorer overall survival. The study is published in the journal Leukemia.

"In patients with MDS, the bone-aging process seems to be sped up," says professor Lorenz Hofbauer, explaining a key finding. He is the director of the University Center for Healthy Aging at Dresden University Hospital. Alongside professor Uwe Platzbecker, chief medical officer of Dresden University Hospital and a specialist in hematology and oncology, he initiated the recently published study in 2016. In addition to Dresden and Leipzig university hospitals, other national partners were involved.

A total of 111 patients with MDS and 84 age-matched control subjects were studied over a three-year period.

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