Osteoporosis

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Osteoporosis is a disease of bone that leads to an increased risk of fracture. In osteoporosis the bone mineral density (BMD) is reduced, bone microarchitecture is disrupted, and the amount and variety of non-collagenous proteins in bone is altered. Osteoporosis is defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) in women as a bone mineral density 2.5 standard deviations below peak bone mass (20-year-old healthy female average) as measured by DXA; the term "established osteoporosis" includes the presence of a fragility fracture. Osteoporosis is most common in women after menopause, when it is called postmenopausal osteoporosis, but may also develop in men, and may occur in anyone in the presence of particular hormonal disorders and other chronic diseases or as a result of medications, specifically glucocorticoids, when the disease is called steroid- or glucocorticoid-induced osteoporosis (SIOP or GIOP). Given its influence is the risk of fragility fracture, osteoporosis may significantly affect life expectancy and quality of life.

Osteoporosis can be prevented with lifestyle changes and sometimes medication; in people with osteoporosis, treatment may involve both. Lifestyle change includes preventing falls and exercise; medication includes calcium, vitamin D, bisphosphonates and several others. Fall-prevention advice includes exercise to tone deambulatory muscles, proprioception-improvement exercises; equilibrium therapies may be included. Exercise with its anabolic effect, may at the same time stop or reverse osteoporosis.

For more information about Osteoporosis, read the full article at Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.


News tagged with bone loss

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Experimental Approach May Reverse Rheumatoid Arthritis and Osteoporosis

Medicine & Health / Research

created Sep 21, 2009 | popularity 4.8 / 5 (12) | comments 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers have identified a mechanism that may keep a well known signaling molecule from eroding bone and inflaming joints, according to an early study published online today in the Journal of Clinical In ...


Russian "Soyuz TMA-15" rocket

Astronauts to blast off to expanded space station

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

created May 26, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (4) | comments 1

A Belgian, a Canadian and a Russian blast off for the International Space Station on Wednesday as Russia steps up its rocket launches to support a doubling of the station's crew.


Dental researchers ID new target in fight against osteoporosis, periodontitis

Dental researchers ID new target in fight against osteoporosis, periodontitis

Medicine & Health / Research

created May 19, 2009 | popularity 4.5 / 5 (2) | comments 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- Osteoporosis and periodontitis are common diseases whose sufferers must cope with weakness, injury and reduced function as they lose bone more quickly than it is formed. While the mechanism ...


Scientists one step closer to stopping bone loss during spaceflight

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

created Mar 20, 2009 | popularity 3.7 / 5 (3) | comments 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- Bone loss in long-duration spaceflight has been identified for decades as a significant problem affecting astronauts. More recently, scientists have found that the absence of gravity is causing astronauts ...


Researchers discover how rheumatoid arthritis causes bone loss

Medicine & Health / Research

created Aug 20, 2008 | popularity 4.5 / 5 (2) | comments 0

Researchers have discovered key details of how rheumatoid arthritis (RA) destroys bone, according to a study published in the Aug. 22 edition of the Journal of Biological Chemistry. The findings are already guiding attemp ...


Study identifies women at higher risk of significant bone loss on injectable birth control

Medicine & Health / Health

created Dec 21, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Nearly half of women using depot medroxyprogesterone acetate (DMPA), commonly known as the birth control shot, will experience high bone mineral density (BMD) loss in the hip or lower spine within two years of beginning the ...


Sticks and stones break bones, but new study may prevent it

Medicine & Health / Research

created Dec 09, 2009 | popularity 4 / 5 (1) | comments 0

The best way to prevent a fracture is to stop bones from reaching the point where they are prone to breaking, but understanding the process of how bones form and mature has been challenging. Now researchers at the University ...


A RANK insider resolving the enigma of the fever chart

Medicine & Health / Research

created Nov 25, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Mammals have evolved a complex system for controlling bone remodeling. Babies require calcium for healthy bones and they obtain it from their mother's milk. Nursing mothers release calcium from their bones. Surprisingly, ...


Connection between depression and osteoporosis detailed

Medicine & Health / Psychology & Psychiatry

created Nov 09, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Research carried out among thousands of people has shown a clear connection between depression and a loss of bone mass, leading to osteoporosis and fractures.


Prostate cancer hormone drugs risky for some men

Medicine & Health / Cancer

created Aug 25, 2009 | popularity 4 / 5 (1) | comments 0

(AP) -- A new study links hormone therapy for prostate cancer with a higher risk of death in older men who've had serious heart problems.


Scientists uncover immune system's role in bone loss

Medicine & Health / Research

created Aug 24, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Got high cholesterol? You might want to consider a bone density test. A new UCLA study sheds light on the link between high cholesterol and osteoporosis and identifies a new way that the body's immune cells play a role in ...


Link found between history of periodontitis and cerebrovascular disease in men

Medicine & Health / Diseases

created Jun 30, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 1

The potential role of periodontitis, an inflammatory disease of the gums, in the risk of cardiovascular disease, particularly ischemic stroke, has received growing attention during the last decade. A new study is the first ...


Study identifies causes of bone loss in breast cancer survivors

Medicine & Health / Cancer

created Nov 19, 2008 | popularity 4.5 / 5 (4) | comments 0

Osteoporosis is a growing concern among breast cancer survivors and their doctors, because certain cancer drugs can cause bone loss.


Cancer treatment may result in bone loss

Medicine & Health / Cancer

created Nov 13, 2008 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Montreal, November 13, 2008 – A new cross-Canada study has found that breast and prostate cancer treatment can foster bone loss. In the online edition of the Journal of Clinical Oncology, the scientists explain how loss o ...


Sweat it out: Study examines ability of sweat patches to monitor bone loss

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

created Oct 01, 2008 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Some health assessments that are routinely carried out on Earth are not practical when the "patients" are free-floating astronauts on long space flights, such as missions to Mars or the Moon. A new, NASA-funded study from ...