OSTEOPOROSIS
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 the menopause, when it is called postmenopausal osteoporosis,
but may also develop in elderly 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
on the risk of fragility fracture, osteoporosis may significantly affect life
expectancy and quality of life.Osteoporosis
can be prevented with lifestyle advice and sometimes medication, and in people
with osteoporosis treatment may involve lifestyle advice, preventing falls
and medication (calcium, vitamin D, bisphosphonates and several others).
Symptoms
Osteoporosis itself has no specific symptoms; its main consequence is the
increased risk of bone fractures. Osteoporotic fractures are those that occur
in situations where healthy people would not normally break a bone; they are
therefore regarded as fragility fractures. Typical fragility fractures occur
in the vertebral column, hip and wrist.The symptoms of a vertebral collapse
("compression fracture") are sudden back pain, often with radiculopathic
pain (shooting pain due to compression of a nerve) and rarely with spinal
cord compression or cauda equina syndrome. Multiple vertebral fractures lead
to a stooped posture, loss of height, and chronic pain with resultant reduction
in mobility.Fractures of the long bones acutely impair mobility and may require
surgery. Hip fracture, in particular, usually requires prompt surgery, as
there are serious risks associated with a hip fracture, such as deep vein
thrombosis and a pulmonary embolism, and increased mortality.(1)
source
: wikipedia
Home