Osteopenia is not a disease. It is a category of bone density – between 1 and 2.5 standard deviations below the mean value in the young normal population. Thus, one in six healthy young individuals have a bone density in this range, as do the majority of women over the age of 60 years. The …
Osteopenia – To treat or not to treat. That is the question Read More »
Since the term was coined by John McCarthy in 1956, Artificial Intelligence (AI), the ability of machines to emulate human cognition in the analysis, interpretation, and comprehension of complicated data, has come a long way. Earlier, in 1950, Alan Turing’s classic publication “Computing Machinery and Intelligence” had introduced the concept of what is now known as the …
Fixing a Fractured Future – Can Artificial Intelligence help? Read More »
The bone loss and increased bone fragility that results from specific, well-defined clinical disorders, and due to certain medications, is termed secondary osteoporosis. Pre- and post-menopausal women, as well as men, may develop secondary osteoporosis. Up to 45% of post-menopausal women, and 60-65% of men are found to have an underlying contributor to their osteoporosis …
Not just garden-variety osteoporosis: secondary osteoporosis and its management Read More »
A recent IOF-ISCD global survey carried out at the Medical Research Council Lifecourse Epidemiology Unit (MRC LEU, University of Southampton) in collaboration with the International Osteoporosis Foundation (IOF) and the International Society for Clinical Densitometry (ISCD), has revealed a worrying lack of quality assurance and reporting procedures in DXA services worldwide. Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) …
DXA scanning facility quality standards – Are we falling woefully short? Read More »
Osteoporosis is a silent and chronic disease. Many patients are unaware that they have the disease until they sustain a fracture. Nurses can be at the front line in helping to manage osteoporosis. Asian cultural norms favour an environment where the dependent relationship between parents and their children change inversely as persons get older, with …
Is obesity protective for fragility fractures due to osteoporosis? The answer, although complex, is likely to be no. While obesity defined by body mass index (BMI) is generally associated with higher areal bone mineral density (BMD) and a lower fracture risk, fracture risk at specific skeletal sites is actually increased. For example, the Global Longitudinal …
Falls lead to injury, and in some cases, fractures. The cause of the fall needs to be carefully identified and appropriate interventions and investigations initiated to prevent further falls. Falls intervention does reduce falls and hospital admissions. The data on fracture reduction is not yet clear. Though existing literature remains inconsistent regarding the relationship between …
Use of NHANES III reference range for bone mineral density (BMD) can result in an overdiagnosis of osteoporosis in Asians The diagnosis of osteoporosis is operationally based on a measurement of bone mineral density (BMD), preferably at the femoral neck or total hip. According to WHO’s recommendation, osteoporosis is defined as a BMD T-score of …
BMD Reference ranges for the diagnosis of osteoporosis in Asians – Time to rethink? Read More »
An article written by Asia Pacific Consortium on Osteoporosis (APCO) Executive Committee Chair, Dr Manju Chandran and APCO Executive Committee member and Medical Director of Osteoporosis Australia, Professor Peter Ebeling AO titled ‘Osteoporosis management and fracture prevention’, has just been published in the Medical Journal of Australia’s (MJA) online peer-reviewed publication, MJA Insight, which is amongst …
As APCO works towards a pan-Asia Pacific Framework for the introduction and implementation of minimum clinical standards for the screening, diagnosis and management of osteoporosis, the key approaches taken for development of a similar guidance in Europe can serve as valuable lessons. National guidelines in Europe, like in the Asia-Pacific, tend to be heterogenous in …
