The investigators will enroll 40 female, non-fracturing, postmenopausal, patients with T1DM, who are age 50 and over, and have had diabetes for more than ten years. The investigators will perform 2 transiliac (hip bone) biopsies on each subject, one for mechanical testing, tissue analysis of AGEs, enzymatic crosslinks and bone tissue-bound water in cortical bone, and the other for histomorphometry and high-resolution 3D imaging in trabecular bone. A matched, non-diabetic, healthy control will be enrolled at the time each T1DM is enrolled.
Patients with Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus (T1DM) have a higher risk of low-trauma (osteoporotic) fracture that is 7-12 times higher than non-diabetics. The bone density of people with Type 1 Diabetes is higher at the time of fracture than in non-diabetics. This suggests the presence of underlying bone tissue mechanical defects. The potential benefits to participants would be knowledge gained about their bone density and the results of laboratory tests. On a wider scale, there may be general benefits to society because the knowledge gained from this study may help better understand the effects of diabetes on bone health