Who Is At Risk For Osteoporosis

Osteoporosis, meaning "porous bones", is a condition that causes bones to slowly thin and weaken, leaving them susceptible to fractures. With an elderly population, osteoporosis becomes increasingly common in America. After age 50, 50% of women and 25% of men are at considerable risk for osteoporosis.

In the U.S., more than 10 million men and women have osteoporosis. An additional 34 million people have low bone mass and are at high risk of developing osteoporosis. About 1.5 million fractures take place each year due to osteoporosis.

Inflammation Accelerates Bone Loss

Osteoporosis, like heart disease, cancer, and diabetes, is not an ordinary consequence of aging. Rather, chronic degenerative diseases usually develop from long-term nutritional, lifestyle, and environmental imbalances that result in buildup of inflammatory toxins.

Even though the precise cause of osteoporosis is unknown, the process by which bone becomes porous is well known. Bone remodeling is controled by a variety of hormones and inflammatory mediators. When the body is exposed to inflammatory toxins, bone breakdown is outpacing bone buildup or bone resorption takes place at a faster speed than bone production. Both processes could result in bone loss and osteoporosis.

Clinical studies have shown that buildup inflammatory cytokines are primary mediators of the enhanced bone loss at menopause. Different studies also confirm increases in the risk of developing osteoporosis in various inflammatory conditions, including rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), periodontitis, and multiple myeloma.

In periodontal disease, oral inflammation results in destruction of oral bone and periodontal ligament, ultimately leading to tooth loss. Further evidence suggests that a variety of inflammatory cytokines stimulate osteoclasts, bone cells that take away the bone tissue and cause bone resorption.

Diabetes Drugs May Thin The Bones

A popular class of drugs for type 2 diabetes, i.e., thiazolidinediones (marketed as Avandia and Actos), had already been connected to heart problems. Recent study revealed that taking these diabetes drugs for more than a year thins the bones and increases the risk of fractures in women with type 2 diabetes, who are already at higher risk before taking the medications.

Control Inflammation May Prevent Bone Loss

In addition to calcium, vitamin D, and physical therapy, estrogen-containing hormone replacement therapy is very effective in reversing the impact of menopause on bone density. But it is currently out of favor due to unwanted side effects, including increased risk of stroke, vein thrombosis and, possibly, dementia. Additional treatments include anti-resorptive or anabolic medicines.

Based on the discovery that chronic inflammation promotes bone breakdown and suppresses bone buildup, control of inflammation is considered as a new approach to preventing bone loss and osteoporosis.

By keeping inflammation under control, the new approach may:

-- Restore balanced growth and function of bone cells;

-- Promote bone formation with normal structure and strength;

-- Support healthy hormone balance for bone metabolism;

-- Remove or deactivate bone-destroying cells.