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 osteoporosis

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Nation's hip fracture rate could drop 25 percent with aggressive osteoporosis prevention

Medicine & Health / Diseases

created Nov 02, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Aggressively managing patients at risk for osteoporosis could reduce the hip fracture rate in the United States by 25 percent, according to a Kaiser Permanente study published in the November issue of the Journal of Bone & ...


Teriparatide outperforms alendronate in treating steroid-induced osteoporosis

Medicine & Health / Diseases

created Oct 29, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

A recent study determined glucocorticoid-induced osteoporosis (OP) is now treatable with Teriparatide, a synthetic form of the human parathyroid hormone. Researchers found patients with glucocorticoid-induced OP who were ...


Gluten-free diet reduces bone problems in children with celiac disease

Medicine & Health / Diseases

created Oct 08, 2009 | popularity 4 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Celiac disease (CD) is an inherited intestinal disorder characterized by life-long intolerance to the ingestion of gluten, a protein found in wheat, rye, and barley. Although CD can be diagnosed at any age, it commonly occurs ...


New link found between osteoporosis and coeliac disease

Medicine & Health / Diseases

created Oct 07, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

People with coeliac disease may develop osteoporosis because their immune system attacks their bone tissue, a new study has shown.


Wrist fracture patients less likely to be evaluated for osteoporosis

Medicine & Health / Diseases

created Oct 01, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

A study published in the October 2009 issue of the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery suggests a disconnect between the way wrist-fracture patients and those with a spine or hip fracture are managed and evaluated. The s ...


New report shows rising tide of fractures in Asia

Medicine & Health / Diseases

created Sep 22, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

A new audit report issued by the International Osteoporosis Foundation (IOF) today shows that osteoporosis is a serious and growing problem throughout Asia.


Buyer beware: Estrogen supplements not as effective as claimed

Buyer beware: Estrogen supplements not as effective as claimed

Medicine & Health / Other

created Sep 02, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Dietary supplements claiming to help postmenopausal women with bone health may not be doing what they say, according to new research from Purdue University.


Hip fracture rates decline in Canada

Medicine & Health / Diseases

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

Standardized rates of hip fracture have steadily declined in Canada since 1985, with a more rapid decline between 1996 and 2005 and a more marked decrease among individuals age 55 to 64 years, according to a report in the ...


Impact of cannabis on bones changes with age, study finds

Medicine & Health / Research

created Aug 13, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (8) | comments 1

Scientists investigating the effects of cannabis on bone health have found that its impact varies dramatically with age.


Hip and back fractures increase mortality rates in people older than 50

Medicine & Health / Diseases

created Aug 04, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Vertebral and hip fractures are associated with an increased risk of death, found a new study of 7753 people in Canada aged 50 years and older published in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal) http://www.cmaj.ca/press/cmaj081720.pdf. According to the results, approximately 25% of people (both men and ...


The Medical Minute: What is osteoporosis? Why now? Why me?

Medicine & Health / Health

created Jul 29, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 1

Osteoporosis comes from a Latin term which means "holes in the bone." In reality it is a skeletal disease characterized by low bone mineral density and structural deterioration of bone, leading to bone weakness and increased ...


Osteoporosis drug may save lives by strengthening immune system

Medicine & Health / Diseases

created Jul 15, 2009 | popularity 2 / 5 (2) | comments 0

An osteoporosis drug proven to save lives after hip fractures may do so by strengthening the body's immune system, according to geriatrics researchers at Duke University Medical Center.


Study reveals bone coupling factor key to skeletal health (w/ Video)

Medicine & Health / Research

created Jul 08, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) have discovered a molecular coupling factor that helps bones grow and remodel themselves to stay strong, a finding that could lead to better bone-building therapies ...


Monitoring bone density in older women is unnecessary and potentially misleading

Medicine & Health / Diseases

created Jun 23, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Monitoring bone mineral density in postmenopausal women taking osteoporosis drugs (bisphosphonates) is unnecessary and potentially misleading, concludes a study published on BMJ.com today.


Obesity surgery thins bones, but enough to break?

Medicine & Health / Other

created Jun 15, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

(AP) -- It isn't just the thunder thighs that shrink after obesity surgery. Melting fat somehow thins bones, too. Doctors don't yet know how likely patients' bones are to thin enough to break in the years after surgery. ...