Pathophysiology, prevention and treatment of age-related osteoporosis in women

Abstract

One of the cardinal manifestations of old age in humans is bone loss leading to fragility of the skeleton and increased risk of fractures, a disease known as osteoporosis. It is estimated that approximately 45% of all women will suffer at least one osteoporotic fracture during their lifetime. Genetic, environmental, nutritional, biomechanical and hormonal factors determine the integrity of the skeleton and age-related bone loss and thus the risk for developing osteoporosis. Several pharmacological agents that are capable for decreasing the risk of fractures are currently available and have proven their efficacy in randomized clinical studies. Among these are the anti-catabolic drugs e.g., calcium, vitamin-D, estrogen, raloxifen, and bisphosphonates (e.g., etidronate, alendronate, risedronate, ibandronate, and pamidronate), anabolic drugs e.g., parathyroid hormone (1-34) and strontium ranelate which has both anti-catabolic and anabolic effects. Also, evidence suggests that individualized advice on lifestyle modification, e.g., increased physical exercise, cessation of smoking, fall prevention and use of hip protectors, should be offered to most patients © 2006 Springer.