Aliya Khan | PubMed Health

PubMed2003

Advances in osteoporosis therapy. 2003 update of practical guidelines.

OBJECTIVE: To review evidence for current therapies for postmenopausal osteoporosis and to establish practical guidelines for management of osteoporosis by family physicians. QUALITY OF EVIDENCE: MEDLINE was searched from January 1990 to January 2003. Articles retrieved were graded by level of evidence (I to III). Recommendations for diagnosis and therapy were based on evidence from randomized controlled trials and meta-analyses. MAIN MESSAGE: Osteoporosis is treatable. Early diagnosis and intervention is recommended. After excluding secondary causes of osteoporosis, physicians should advise patients to take appropriate calcium and vitamin D supplementation. Those with osteopenia at risk of fractures and those with established osteoporosis need additional therapy. CONCLUSION: Approved pharmacologic therapies include alendronate, risedronate, raloxifene, calcitonin, cyclical etidronate, and hormone replacement therapy. Family physicians can help with early diagnosis and intervention and should discuss lifestyle modification with patients.

Aged↗

PubMed2002

Bone densitometry: applications and limitations.

Osteoporosis is clinically diagnosed in its advanced stages, usually following a fracture. Accurate, precise, and noninvasive skeletal assessment is now possible for early detection of osteoporosis at a preclinical stage. Currently, the gold standard in bone mass measurement and fracture prediction is dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) of the hip and spine. Exponential increases in fracture risk have been observed with small decreases in bone mineral density. Bone mineral density (BMD) should be considered in conjunction with independent clinical risk factors for fracture, including: low body weight, history of postmenopausal fracture, family history of fracture, and poor neuromuscular function. The World Health Organization (WHO) diagnostic criteria for osteoporosis and osteopenia are appropriate for postmenopausal Caucasian women and are applicable to DEXA assessments at the hip, spine, or forearm. This review explores the relationship between BMD and fracture risk, the principles of bone densitometry interpretation, and the applications as well as the limitations of DEXA technology, and presents cases illustrating common errors seen in the interpretation of DEXA studies.

Absorptiometry, Photon↗