subject: Something You Should Know About Osteoporosis [print this page] Who Is At Risk For Osteoporosis Who Is At Risk For Osteoporosis
Osteoporosis, meaning "porous bones", is a condition that causes bones to gradually thin and weaken, leaving them vulnerable to fractures. With an aging population, osteoporosis is becoming increasingly common in America. After age 50, 50% of women and 25% of men are at significant risk for osteoporosis.
In the United States, more than 10 million men and women have osteoporosis. An additional 34 million people have low bone mass and are at high risk of developing osteoporosis. About 1.5 million fractures take place each year because of osteoporosis.
Inflammation Speeds Up Bone Loss
Osteoporosis, like heart disease, cancer, and diabetes, is not an ordinary consequence of aging. Rather, chronic degenerative diseases usually arise from long-term nutritional, lifestyle, and environmental imbalances that lead to buildup of inflammatory toxins.
Although the exact cause of osteoporosis is unknown, the process by which bone becomes porous is well known. Bone remodeling is regulated by a diversity of hormones and inflammatory mediators. When the body is open to inflammatory toxins, bone breakdown is overtaking bone buildup or bone resorption takes place at a faster speed than bone making. Both processes could lead to bone loss and osteoporosis.
Clinical studies have shown that increased inflammatory cytokines are primary mediators of the accelerated bone loss at menopause. Different studies also report increases in the risk of developing osteoporosis in various inflammatory conditions, including rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), periodontitis, and multiple myeloma.
In periodontal disorder, oral inflammation results in destruction of oral bone and periodontal ligament, eventually leading to tooth loss. Further evidence indicates that a variety of inflammatory mediators activate osteoclasts, bone cells that remove the bone tissue and cause bone resorption.
Diabetes Drugs May Thin The Bones
A popular class of drugs for type 2 diabetes, i.e., thiazolidinediones (marketed as Avandia and Actos), had already been linked to heart problems. New study revealed that taking these diabetes drugs for more than a year thins the bones and increases the risk of fractures in women with type 2 diabetes, who are already at higher risk before taking the drugs.
Control Inflammation May Prevent Bone Loss
Besides calcium, vitamin D, and physical therapy, estrogen-containing hormone replacement therapy is very effective in reversing the impact of menopause on bone density. But it is currently out of favor due to unwanted side effects, including increased risk of stroke, vein thrombosis and, perhaps, dementia. Additional treatments include anti-resorptive or anabolic medications.
Based on the findings that chronic inflammation promotes bone breakdown and suppresses bone buildup, control of inflammation is viewed as a new approach to preventing bone loss and osteoporosis.
By keeping inflammation under control, the new approach may:
-- Restore balanced growth and function of bone cells;
-- Promote bone formation with normal structure and strength;
-- Support healthy hormone balance for bone metabolism;
