Osteoporosis Disease

When I think of osteoporosis, I tend to think of an older woman with a loss of height and a hunched-over posture. These are signs of aging and seemingly unavoidable. I realized that my concept of osteoporosis was not entirely true after I learned more about the disease through my Human Anatomy class. Therefore, in this paper I will be discussing what its etiology, symptoms, diagnosis, and current treatments are.  I will also list a few steps to prevent this disease and to take care of your bones.

First, I would like to help you understand how the bones develop and to define the back ground of Osteoporosis. Bones grow as our body grows, new bone is added and old bone is removed from the skeleton. During our childhood and the teen years, new bone is added faster than old bone is removed. Your bone mass increases until age 30 when our bones reach what is called "peak bone mass," or maximum density and strength  After that, bone removal begins to outperform formation of new bone, and this, over time, leads to bone loss. The rate of bone loss is greatest in the first few years after menopause. Then bone loss continues but more slowly. Next, your ovaries stop producing estrogen, a hormone that helps prevent bone loss.  Some people develop osteopenia, a condition characterized by low bone density. Osteopenia can eventually lead to osteoporosis, a more severe condition with even lower bone density.

Osteoporosis is a disease that weakens bones over time and it puts one at risk for breaking a bone. According to “About Osteoporosis”, an article on the Boniva website, osteoporosis is a term that means "porous bones." It is a skeletal disease affecting women and men. Osteoporosis is a condition in which bones have lost minerals—especially calcium—making them weaker, more brittle, and susceptible to breaking. Any bone in the body can be affected by osteoporosis, but the most common places where fractures occur are the back (spine), hips, and wrists.  Because the disease makes bones thinner and weaker, fractures can occur during ordinary movements like bending and lifting, or from falls. These fractures can be painful, disfiguring, and often go unnoticed at first. Fractures may also reduce a person's ability to lead an active life. It is estimated that 1 out of every 2 women over the age of 50 will be affected by postmenopausal osteoporosis in her remaining lifetime. Below is the picture of weak bone to help you understand this disease better.

Osteoporosis is most likely caused by a combination of factors. The primary factors are: imbalance of magnesium and calcium; longtime use of steroids; extreme hormonal imbalance; as well as the side effects of some drugs such as the anti-coagulant Warfarin, also known as Coumadin, which works by inhibiting vitamin K production.  According to “A Complete Osteoporosis Reversal Program”, an article on the health report website, Coumadin is often prescribed for reducing high blood pressure, to keep blood flowing where there is calcification of the arteries. One role of vitamin K is to take calcium in the blood and to direct it to the bone. When vitamin K is turned off, the calcium is more likely to stay in the arteries, causing potentially, calcification, and a decrease in bone density. A 2006 retrospective study of 14,564 Medicare recipients showed that warfarin use for more than one year was linked with a 60% increased risk of osteoporosis-related fracture in men; there was no association in women. So for some reason this problem may be more common in men.

Too much acidity can also cause bone loss.  If your diet contains too many soft drinks and foods like grains, pasta, white bread, meat, with too few fruits and vegetables, then your blood starts to become acidic. Since the blood needs to maintain a neutral pH, your body pulls calcium from the bones to neutralize the acidity.

Do you how calcium gets into the bones?  Bones are living tissues that must be constantly rebuilt through a two part process. First, cells called Osteoclasts have the job of getting rid of old weakened bone. They resorb old bone to make room for the creation of healthy strong bone.  Second, Osteoblasts, or immature bone cells, produce a matrix composed of collagen that then becomes mineralized. Bone mass is maintained by a balance between the activity of osteoblasts that form bone and osteoclasts that break it down. In osteoporosis the net rate of bone resorption exceeds the rate of bone formation, resulting in a decrease in bone mass without an increase in bone mineralization. Osteoclasts are activated by parathyroid hormone (PTH) which signals osteoclasts to resorb bones. Calcitonin is the hormone primarily made by the thyroid that inhibits the activity of osteoclasts so that they don’t digest the bone. One reason why the osteoporosis protocol we suggest in this report is so powerful is that it includes many elements that stimulate the increased production of and activity of osteoblasts.

Do you know why hormone imbalance is one of the root causes of bone loss? According to “A Complete Osteoporosis Reversal Program”, an article on the health report website, in women, osteoclast activity is increased because of decreased estrogen after menopause. Men with decreased testosterone also have increased osteoclast activity. Because testosterone levels decrease with age, the older a man gets the more likely he is to develop osteoporosis. Increased osteoclast activity without increased osteoblast activity results in a net loss of bone. However, decrease in estrogen levels and testosterone does not appear to be the primary cause of the development of osteoporosis. This determination is based on the observation that  Asian and African populations with a low intake (about 300 mg) of calcium daily but with higher daily magnesium intake tend to have very little osteoporosis. These people all go through menopause or decreased testosterone levels as they age and yet they do not get osteoporosis. Therefore, the low magnesium and high calcium intake of our Western diet appears to be primary to the development of osteoporosis. Below are two explanations for why this situation can lead to osteoporosis. 

First, the Calcitonin hormone that inhibits osteoclasts relies on magnesium to function properly. If the magnesium is lacking, the balance between PTH which instructs the body to produce osteoclasts and calcitonin tilts is too low. This results in excessive stimulation of osteoclasts, which causes net bone loss. In other words, magnesium suppresses the hormone that tells your body to pull calcium from the bones so that you do not loose so much bone.

Second, Western countries have a high proportion of dairy products in their diets so the average calcium intake is about 1000 mg. There is 6 to 8 times more calcium than magnesium in dairy foods, resulting in a low magnesium intake. If this imbalance occurs, calcium moves out of the bones to increase tissue levels. Conversely, a high magnesium intake causes calcium to move from the tissues into the bones. Thus high magnesium levels lead to bone mineralization.

Common among many adults today, lack of physical activity is believed to contribute to lower bone density because the skeleton is not being taxed enough to stimulate new bone growth.

There are no obvious symptoms for bone loss occurs. Even though your bones may not feel weaker, you may experience some vague symptoms without realizing that they're associated with osteoporosis. These symptoms include: a loss of height, change in posture, or severe back pain, all of which may be caused by osteoporosis.

Many people do not discover that they have osteoporosis until a bone fracture occurs. Early diagnosis and treatment of osteoporosis may help lessen the risk of broken bone. 



According to “Osteoporosis Tests and diagnosis”, an article on the Mayo Clinic website, Doctors commonly diagnoses osteoporosis by measuring bone density. The three tests that can accurately measure bone density include: Ultrasound, Quantitative computerized tomography (CT) scanning, and Single-photon absorptiometry.

Many websites provide information and advertise their products for treating and preventing osteoporosis problems.  So which is the best product? This question can’t be answered without an “it depends”. Below are a few medicines or products that are advertised for treating and prevent this disease.

1. BONIVA is a prescription medicine used to treat or prevent osteoporosis in women after menopause. BONIVA helps increase bone mass and helps reduce the chance of having a spinal fracture (break). It is not known how long BONIVA works for the treatment and prevention of osteoporosis. You should see your doctor regularly to determine if BONIVA is still right for you.

2. Biphosphonate, Fosamax, and Actonel drugs. These work by stopping the production of osteoclasts which are supposed to resorb old, infirm bone. So when you take these medications, your bones may stay denser, but they will be composed of a higher amount of old, poor quality bone cells which makes them over time brittle and weak. You must have balanced bone resorption and creation. These drugs create weak bones.

3. Prednisone and other steroids. Prescription drugs that block the absorption of calcium into bones. These drugs are commonly used to treat autoimmune, asthma, and inflammatory diseases.

Personally, I would recommend some of the following steps to prevent osteoporosis problems.

1. Make weight-bearing exercise a part of your daily routine, such as walking, stair climbing, aerobic exercise and resistance training to develop the muscles that support the skeleton.

2. Stop drinking soft drinks. The phosphorus in soft drinks appears to have a deleterious effect on bone tissue. Coke and beverages with caffeine and phosphorus appear to cause bone resorption (a problem for children and adults).

3. Quit smoking. This can reduce the risk for osteoporosis and most other diseases.

4. Reduce consumption of dairy products and increase magnesium intake.  Magnesium is necessary for calcium absorption; it suppresses PTH and stimulates calcitonin so magnesium works to keep calcium in our bones. Magnesium deficiency will prevent this chemical action from taking place, and no amount of calcium can correct it. This results in an imbalance of magnesium and calcium in your body that for most people is the single most important cause of bone loss.

5. Get more sun. Increase Vitamin D intake.

6. Eat greens. Increase Vitamin K intake.

7. Reduce stress. Cortisol is a hormone produced when your body is under stress. Excess cortisol causes calcium to be pulled from the bones. In this day and age, it isn’t easy to reduce stress, so excess cortisol may also be initiating the pull of calcium your bones.

Now, you should have a clear understanding of what osteoporosis disease is, and what the root cause this disease.  In addition, you should have a good idea of how to diagnose, treat and prevent this disease.  It is up to you to take charge of your health.  You can use this information to build a foundation of knowledge that supports healthy bones and a healthy lifestyle.

References

1. Osteoporosis Tests and diagnosis http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/osteoporosis/DS00128/DSECTION=tests-and-diagnosis

2. A Complete Osteoporosis Reversal Program http://www.health-reports.com/Osteoporosis.html

3. About Osteoporosis http://www.boniva.com/osteoporosis/default.aspx?C=P000316_S0261_F000302