Osteoporosis

People have their highest bone density in their 30s

Osteoporosis is the weakening of bones in the body. It can be caused by lack of calcium in the bones. Bone pain can be caused by eating too much phosphor or by some chemicals. It is common in older women that have gone through menopause because of the effect that estrogen has, and in Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT). Some medication (like prednisone and other steroids/immunosuppressive drugs) might cause osteoporosis or complicate treatment. It causes the bones to become brittle and break easily. Dietary (eating) calcium-rich foods and vitamins (like Vitamin D), and eating normal amounts of dietary phosphor can help prevent it. There are three kinds of osteoporosis.

Side effects include limping and needing to use a cane (walking stick) to walk. Some symptoms late in the disease include pain in the bones, bones breaking very easily and lower back pain because of spinal bone fractures.

Causes

There are many causes of osteoporosis, including old age (over 50s). It is more likely for a woman to get osteoporosis than a man. Elderly people are more likely to develop osteoporosis than younger people. The amount of calcium in the bones decreases as a person gets older. Thyroid problems can cause osteoporosis, as can hypogonadism. Steroid use in males can cause it. HIV and its treatment can cause it because of the effects that the immune system has. Problems in the pituitary gland (hypopituitarism, or a low effort gland), which affects hormones, can cause it if it causes the body to lack hormones.

Cadmium and radium causes the bones to start "rotting" if they are eaten, and when it happens because of radium it is called radium jaw because of how common it was when it was OK for workers to use the chemical in their jobs.

Consuming too much alcohol and caffeine can cause an increase in the risk of weak bones. Too much salt increases the amount of calcium lost in urine. This is bad because calcium makes bones strong. People should not take iron and calcium supplements at the same time. This is because calcium competes with the absorption of minerals from the kidney such as iron.

Cure

There is no cure for osteoporosis. A person can keep it from happening by exercising and taking the right amount of calcium each day. 75 million people in the United States, Japan, and Europe have osteoporosis. 30 million people in the US have poor bone density. Vitamin D from diet, calcium, and exercise are the three main things for healthy bones. Vitamin D should be taken from diet if possible, rather than using supplements, as they can cause kidney stone disease.

Osteoporosis Media

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  Illustration depicting normal standing posture and osteoporosis

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  Progression of the shape of vertebral column with age in osteoporosis

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  The body regulates calcium homeostasis with two pathways; one is signaled to turn on when blood calcium levels drop below normal and one is the pathway that is signaled to turn on when blood calcium levels are elevated.

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  Osteoporosis Locations. Animation in the reference.[1] This image was donated by Blausen Medical.

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  Multiple osteoporotic wedge fractures demonstrated on a lateral thoraco-lumbar spine X-ray

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  Age-standardised hip fracture rates in 2012.     Low (< 150 / 100 000)     Medium (150–250 / 100 000)     High (> 250 / 100 000)

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  Light micrograph of an osteoclast displaying typical distinguishing characteristics: a large cell with multiple nuclei and a "foamy" cytosol.

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  Light micrograph of osteoblasts, several displaying a prominent Golgi apparatus, actively synthesizing osteoid containing two osteocytes.

Related pages

• Graves' disease
• Thyroid