Osteoporosis Archive

Articles

By the way, Doctor: Is the ultra-low dose estrogen patch available?

 

Q. In January, you wrote about an ultra-low dose estrogen patch that helps prevent osteoporosis. Is it available to the public?

A. The estrogen patch we wrote've mentionedabout is available by prescription under the trade name Menostar. Menostar is a clear, dime-sized transdermal patch that delivers 0.014 mg of 17-beta estradiol to the body every day. You change the patch once a week.

Why you need a bone density scan

Image: Thinkstock

This important test can warn you before you break a bone.

The time to think about your bone health is long before you're laid up with a fracture. Getting a bone density scan can tell you whether your bones are at normal, low, or very low density. The results can help predict your risk of a fracture so you can start taking steps to prevent one.

Keeping bones strong

Ounce for ounce, bone bears as much weight as reinforced concrete. However, unlike reinforced concrete, bone is a living tissue. It serves as a repository of minerals for the rest of the body to use, continuously lending them out and replacing them. Bone also gets stronger when "stressed" by physical activity, and can repair itself when injured.

The building and tearing down of bone tissue is called remodeling. This process happens continuously throughout your entire life. At first, your body rebuilds more bone than it demolishes. Typically, a person reaches peak bone mass around the age of 30. Among women, bone mass usually remains steady for the next 20 years or so until the onset of menopause, when bone is lost much more quickly than it is replaced. When bone loss is significant, the result is osteoporosis (which means "porous bone"). Bone loss generally starts later for men — typically in the late 50s — and progresses more slowly than in women. But men can also get osteoporosis.

Two keys to strong bones: Calcium and Vitamin D


Image: memoriesarecaptured/Thinkstock

Although bone-weakening osteoporosis is quite common among older people, it isn't an inevitable part of aging. There's a lot you can do to shield your bones from this disease.

The best insurance against osteoporosis is building the highest bone density possible by your 30s and minimizing bone loss after that. But if you you're already in midlife or beyond, there is still much you can do to preserve the bone you have and perhaps even to replace lost bone. Daily weight-bearing exercise, like walking, is the best medicine. Getting enough calcium and vitamin D are two other critical strategies for keeping bones strong.

Ask the doctor: How can I protect against bone loss?

Q. I have osteoporosis, and my doctor has recommended that I take a bisphosphonate drug. Is there anything else I can do to protect my bones and keep them strong?

A. Bisphosphonate drugs are a good option for treating osteoporosis, because they slow the breakdown of bone. They're one of several drug treatments for the condition, which also include estrogen, raloxifene (Evista), and teriparatide (Forteo). Follow your doctor's advice and stick to your drug regimen, but you don't have to stop there.

Study suggests testing bone health in older people less often may be safe

One key instruction in the operating manual for healthy aging is remaining ever vigilant about osteoporosis. The quest to identify osteoporosis early has led to widespread testing of bone mineral density (BMD), the key measure of bone strength. Medicare pays for the gold-standard test, dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA), every two years, regardless of whether their previous scan was normal or not. A study published today found that repeat bone-density testing after four years improved the ability to identify those at higher risk by only 4%. This study raises the fundamental question: Is repeating testing of older people with normal bone strength every two years too much?

Ask the doctor: Glucosamine and chondroitin benefits?

 

 

 

 

 

 

Anthony L. Komaroff, M.D.

Q. Where do you stand on glucosamine and chondroitin? Do you think they're helpful or just hype?

A. Randomized clinical trials have compared each of these two supplements, alone and in combination, against placebo in people suffering from osteoarthritis of the hip and knee. An analysis of 10 different studies that included nearly 4,000 patients concluded that there was not much evidence of reduced pain from glucosamine and chondroitin. Some studies have found a temporary benefit (for several months) among patients with the greatest degree of pain, but the benefit then disappeared. On the other hand, there also was no evidence of side effects from these substances.

Two osteoporosis drugs better than one

A combination of two osteoporosis drugs-denosumab (Prolia) and teriparatide (Forteo)-increases bone mineral density in women at risk for fractures better than either drug alone.

Top 5 ways to reduce crippling hand pain

 

These nonsurgical solutions will enhance daily activities and independence.

Hand pain is more than just annoying. The stiffness and swelling that go along with hand pain can sap strength and diminish the ability to carry out routine functions, like buttoning clothes.

One common cause of hand pain is osteoarthritis—when the shock-absorbing cartilage between bones in the finger joints and at the base of the thumb becomes worn or damaged. Hand pain can also result from nerve conditions, like the pain and tingling you feel when there is pressure on the median nerve in the wrist or the ulnar nerve near the elbow. Sometimes hand pain results from tendinitis, an inflammation of the tissue that attaches muscles to the bones. Here are five methods to help manage hand pain, retain hand function, and avoid surgery.

Osteoporosis update for men

Do you need to be concerned about age-related bone loss? Yes—but not as much as women do.

With aging comes a greater risk for osteoporosis: a decline in bone strength that puts you at risk of fractures. The face of osteoporosis in America is primarily that of a postmenopausal woman, but men are not entirely immune. "Women start losing bone earlier, primarily because of menopause, but men do lose bone, too—starting about 10 years later," says Dr. David Slovik, an endocrinologist and associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School.

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