Osteoporosis Essay

Osteoporosis is a condition during which bones become fragile and have a higher chance of breaking. Bone mineral density (BMD) serves as a marker that indicates the balance between formation and resorption of the bone. Osteoporosis manifests when resorption exceeds formation, which subsequently leads to bone loss. The diagnosis is based on Dual energy X-ray absorptimometry (DXA) of the spine and hip BMD, which serves as a gold standard of measurement together with a T-score value. T- score represents the number of standard deviations from the mean BMD of a young normal adult. A diagnosis of osteoporosis could also be made if osteoporotic fractures are present. The condition of osteoporosis could be classified as either age related, post menopausal or secondary. National Osteoporosis Foundation currently recommends treatment for postmenopausal women and men over the age of 50 with osteoporosis diagnosis. Current treatment options include bisphosphonates, calcitonin, estrogen hormone therapy, estrogen agonist/antagonist, tissue-selective …show more content…
The study also looked at the levels of Glu-osteocalcin (Glu-OC) and menaquinone-4 at the end of 24 months period, as well as osteocalcin (OC) level and deoxypyridinoline (DPD) urinary elimination, which were recorded before and after the treatment course. Patients were randomized to two groups. The control group (n= 121) received 150 mg of elemental calcium once a day, and the vitamin K2 group (n=120) was treated with 45 mg per day of oral vitamin K2 and 150 mg of elemental calcium once a day for 24 months. The patients were not allowed to take any other medications that effected bone or calcium metabolism. However, there were no specific instructions provided regarding daily calcium, vitamin D or vitamin K intake. Additionally, no exercise activity instructions were