Endocrine Abstracts

In the absence of fractures, making the diagnosis of osteoporosis from radiographs can be imprecise. As there are now effective bone preserving and bone enhancing therapies which reduce future fracture risk, identifying patients at risk before fractures occur is relevant, hence the importance of bone densitometry.The method that is most widely used currently is dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA). This can be applied to axial and appendicular skeletal sites, uses very low r...

Steroid hormones play an important role in the skeleton and may be involved in the pathogenesis and management of osteoporosis. The decline in estrogen levels at the menopause is associated with increased bone resorption and accelerated bone loss. Although there is no comparable reduction in serum testosterone in middle-aged men, the gradual decline in free testosterone may contribute to bone loss with age. Hypogonadism is a well-established cause of secondary osteoporosis in ...

Osteoporosis has increasingly been recognised as a major healthcare problem. In the past diagnosis was predicated upon the results of bone density measurements with the WHO threshold of a T score of -2.5 being taken as diagnostic. This approach is being called into question as the importance of factors other than bone density upon the risk of fracture have emerged. It is likely that treatment for osteoporosis will soon be decided upon the basis of estimated fracture risk rathe...

Osteoporosis and Fracture: The Role of the Endocrine NurseThe importance of osteoporosis lies in the increased fracture risk associated with reduced bone mineral density (BMD). Although osteoporosis is not painful, osteoporotic fractures are associated with significant morbidity and mortality; furthermore the occurrence of a fracture leads to an increased risk of subsequent fracture in both women and men.Identification of patients ...