It is known that steroid usage and alcohol abuse are major etiological factors in the development of avascular necrosis (AVN), a bone disease that produces osteonecrosis of the femoral head. The facilitation of fat biosynthesis by steroids and alcohol disrupts the blood supply into the femoral head. SREBP-2 plays a central role in the maintenance of lipid homeostasis through stimulating expression of genes associated with cholesterol biosynthetic pathways. The aim of this study was to examine the association between the polymorphisms of the SREBP-2 gene and AVN susceptibility in the Korean population.
Skeletal Diseases Genome Research Center, Kyungpook National University Hospital, 44-2 Samduk 2-ga, Jung-gu, Daegu, 700-412, Republic of Korea. archion@knu.ac.kr
