Osteopenia And Osteoporosis

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Osteopenia and Osteoporosis Osteopenia and Osteoporosis and the effects on the elderly. Course # BSC 1093 Susan Delanis Anatomy & Physiology I Southwest Florida College Dr. Robert C. Intress Summer 2011 05/31/2011 Osteopenia and Osteoporosis 2 Osteopenia and Osteoporosis and the effects on the elderly Osteopenia and Osteoporosis are often confused and merged together as one general degenerative bone disease. Both are a reduction in bone mass, usually caused by a lower rate of formation of new bone that is insufficient to combat the rate of bone destruction but they are, in essence, distinct unto themselves. Osteopenia is a low bone mineral density reading that is regarded as not low enough to be classified as Osteoporosis.…show more content…
(Bliuc, 2009) Both conditions are very common, especially in women, so much so that the United States Surgeon General has estimated that a total of 45 million people in this country suffer from either one of these debilitating conditions. A 10 % loss of bone mass in the vertebrae can double a person’s risk of having a vertebral fracture, and a 10 % loss of bone mass in the hip increases to 2.5 times a greater risk of having a hip fracture. (Klotzbuecher, 2000) Even in today’s enlightened environment up to 80 % of individuals at high risk who have already had at least one Osteoporotic fracture and have been treated fail to follow up with annual BMD tests. (Eisman, 2004) In the past Osteoporosis been traditionally underdiagnosed and undertreated, which can be explained by one of or a combination of factors. To the patient, it has traditionally been considered as a consequence of just getting older and the early symptoms of neck or muscle pain are rarely relayed to the health care professional by the patient until fractures actually develop, so, as such, these symptoms may be overlooked as minor ailments to be tolerated. (Burke, RN.,…show more content…
It is noted that Bisphosphonates are small inorganic molecules that bind to a substance called hydroxyapatite on the surface of damaged bones. At the sites of bone damage, osteoclasts are inhibited and destroyed. Since bone damage is caused by increased numbers and activity of these osteoclast bone cells, bisphosphonates reduce new bone damage and allow an opportunity for bone healing to occur. These medications are not without their own perils though since some advertisements disclaimers are longer than the benefits. (Novis,

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