Call for fresh approach to falls Jan 18, 2008
One in three people over the age of 65 is harmed in a fall each year in England, with a third of those who suffer fracture having a DXA scan, which measures bone density. Doctors identify illness and treat them with drugs. (BBC News -- UK)
Osteoporosis must be included in GP contract Sep 21, 2007
Recent figures show that less than 5% of women who have had a fracture have had their bone density measured by DXA scan and fewer than one in ten were being treated with drugs that can halve future fracture risk. In all, 300,000 patients are admitted to hospital with fragility fractures, which add up to 2 billion in health and social care costs, says the report. (OnMedica)
Experts say drugs are best way to treat osteoporosis Jul 3, 2007
Joseph Lane, a professor of orthopedic surgery at the Hospital for Special Surgery in Manhattan and chief of its Metabolic Bone Disease Service, says that the benefit of exercise in a middle-age adult lies not in bone density but in bone quality - its "micro-architecture" and strength - which won't show up on a DXA scan. Still, he says, exercise should be an "additive, not an alternative" to drugs if bone loss is advanced. (Newsday -- Health)
