LEAD ISOTOPE TRACER METHOD TO DETERMINE BONE MINERAL TURNOVER

摘要

A method of determining bone mineral turnover in bone of a subject involves determining isotopic ratio of one lead isotope (preferably 206Pb) to other lead isotopes in a biological material (e.g. blood or urine) of a subject taking dietary calcium, comparing the isotopic ratio determined to a control isotopic ratio to determine a change in lead isotopic ratio, and correlating the change in lead isotopic ratio to a change in bone mineral turnover in bone of the subject. The control is a ratio of the one lead isotope to other lead isotopes in the biological material of the subject before the subject took the dietary calcium. The method is especially useful for companies developing products or by regulatory bodies for evaluating health or other types of claims made by makers of various products or neutraceuticals, relating to calcium status or preventing/stemming loss of calcium from bone.