Biochemical markers of bone turnover in secondary osteopathies

During recent years, diagnosis and monitoring of metabolic bone diseases have been markedly improved by the quantification of biochemical markers of bone turnover. The development of new analytical methods to detect osteotropic parameters with different skeletal origin, biochemical structure and function has increased our knowledge of bone matrix composition and the physiologic regulation of bone turnover, as well as of pathophysiologic mechanisms that may lead to the development of primary and secondary metabolic bone diseases. The present work gives an overview of the most commonly used biochemical markers of bone turnover, followed by an update of current clinical applications of these markers in secondary osteopathies with special emphasis on recent research activities.