Bones - The Man In T... _BEST_
A treatment plan to minimize loss of bone during long-term glucocorticoid therapy may include using the minimal effective dose and discontinuing the drug or administering it through the skin, if possible. Adequate calcium and vitamin D intake is important, as these nutrients help reduce the impact of glucocorticoids on the bones. Other possible treatments include testosterone replacement and osteoporosis medication.
Bones - The Man in t...
Immobilization: Weight-bearing activity is essential for maintaining healthy bones. Without it, bone density may decline rapidly. Prolonged bed rest (following fractures, surgery, spinal cord injuries, or illness) or immobilization of some part of the body often results in significant bone loss. It is crucial to resume weight-bearing activities (such as walking, jogging, and dancing) as soon as possible after a period of prolonged bed rest. If this is not possible, you should work with your doctor to minimize other risk factors for osteoporosis.
Whether they're young athletes, middle-aged adults or seniors playing competitive sports, females and males are vulnerable to problems with their bones and joints. Even with similar conditions, treatment and recovery can vary by gender. A new study looks at the Venus-Mars divide in orthopedic conditions, as experts work to raise awareness among men and women, parents and physicians.
After about 50 years of age, we start to break down more bone than we rebuild. As a result, our bones slowly start to lose density and strength, which makes them more susceptible to fracture. Everyone experiences bone loss as they age, however not everyone will develop osteoporosis. Only after bone loss reaches a certain point is a diagnosis of osteoporosis made.
Some anthropologists were eager to scientifically test the bones hoping for clues about who the first Americans were and where they came from. But many Native Americans hesitated to support this scientific scrutiny (including tests which permanently destroy or damage the original bone), arguing it was disrespectful to their ancient ancestor. They wanted him laid to rest.
Some scientists, on the other hand, made impassioned arguments that the bones did not fall under the purview of the new rules. Their extreme age meant the remains were unlikely to be a direct ancestor of any living group. Following this logic, several influential scientists argued the bones should therefore be available for scientific study. Indeed, extensive scientific tests were carried out on the skeleton.
According to several Victorian accounts, a large quantity of bones, teeth of extinct animals, flint knives and bone instruments were, unfortunately, wheelbarrowed out from the site and discarded. Some must have been from earlier occupations of the cave but it is possible some would have held additional clues about the life of Cheddar Man and other humans who once lived in the region.
'We used to use leg bones or teeth as the thick bones and enamel keep DNA quite intact, but in the last two years we've shifted to using the petrous, or inner ear bone, which is the densest bone in the human body,' she says.
In serious cases of osteoporosis, a simple motion such as a cough or minor bump can result in a broken bone, also called a fracture. People with osteoporosis also have a harder time recovering from broken bones, which can sometimes cause pain that does not go away. Broken hip and spine bones are especially serious, as these injuries can cause older adults to lose their mobility and independence.
You can also help reduce the risk of breaking a bone by preventing falls. For individuals with weakened bones, falling is more likely to cause a fracture. Additionally, broken bones in people with osteoporosis may not heal properly and could cause persistent pain, leading to a loss of mobility and independence.
Previous research has shown that belly fat is bad for women's bones. So when a recent study showed that obese men have more fractures than their non-obese counterparts, Harvard researchers wanted to find out if the type of fat mattered in men, too.
"What we found is that obese men with deep belly fat had much, much weaker bones than other obese men," says researcher Miriam Bredella, MD, a radiologist at Massachusetts General Hospital and associate professor of radiology at Harvard Medical School.
But for years, obesity and body fat were thought to have at least one redeeming quality: Stronger bones and a lower risk for osteoporosis and related fractures, says Thomas Link, MD, professor of radiology at the University of California, San Francisco.
Because use of the technique to measure bone strength is so novel, researchers don't know for sure what normal values should be. "But what we can say is that the more belly fat a man had, the weaker his bones," she says.
Characterizing the morphology of the carpometacarpal (CMC) joint bones and how they vary across the population is important for understanding the functional anatomy and pathology of the thumb. The purpose of this paper was to develop a statistical shape model of the trapezium and first metacarpal bones to characterize the size and shape of the whole bones across a cohort of 50. We used this shape model to investigate the effects of sex and age on the size and shape of the CMC joint bones and the articulating surface area of the CMC joint. We hypothesized that women have similar shape trapezium and first metacarpal bones compared to men, following scaling for overall size. We also hypothesized that age would be a significant predictor variable for CMC joint bone changes. CT image data and segmented point clouds of 50 CMC bones from healthy adult men and women were obtained from an ongoing study and used to generate two statistical shape models. Statistical analysis of the principal component weights of both models was performed to investigate morphological sex and age differences. We observed sex differences, but were unable to detect any age differences. Between men and women the only difference in morphology of the trapezia and first metacarpal bones was size. These findings confirm our first hypothesis, and suggest that the women have similarly shaped trapezium and first metacarpal bones compared to men. Furthermore, our results reject our second hypothesis, indicating that age is a poor predictor of CMC joint morphology.
Researchers understand how osteoporosis develops even without knowing the exact cause of why it develops. Your bones are made of living, growing tissue. The inside of healthy bone looks like a sponge. This area is called trabecular bone. An outer shell of dense bone wraps around the spongy bone. This hard shell is called cortical bone.
When osteoporosis occurs, the "holes" in the "sponge" grow larger and more numerous, which weakens the inside of the bone. Bones support the body and protect vital organs. Bones also store calcium and other minerals. When the body needs calcium, it breaks down and rebuilds bone. This process, called bone remodeling, supplies the body with needed calcium while keeping the bones strong.
Some medications cause side effects that may damage bone and lead to osteoporosis. These include steroids, treatments for breast cancer, and medications for treating seizures. You should speak with your healthcare provider or pharmacist about the effect of your medications on bones.
Your healthcare provider can order a test to give you information about your bone health before problems begin. Bone mineral density (BMD) tests are also known as dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA or DXA) scans. These X-rays use very small amounts of radiation to determine how solid the bones of the spine, hip or wrist are. Regular X-rays will only show osteoporosis when the disease is very far along.
Raloxifene acts like estrogen with the bones. The drug is available in tablet form and is taken every day. In addition to treating osteoporosis, raloxifene might be used to reduce the risk of breast cancer in some women. For osteoporosis, raloxifene is generally used for five years.
Denosumab (Prolia) is product that is available as an injection given every six months to women and men. It is often used when other treatments have failed. Denosumab can be used even in some cases of reduced kidney function. Its long-term effects are not yet known, but there are potentially serious side effects. These include possible problems with bones in the thigh or jaw and serious infection.
Besides dairy products, other good sources of calcium are salmon with bones, sardines, kale, broccoli, calcium-fortified juices and breads, dried figs, and calcium supplements. It is best to try to get the calcium from food and drink.
Maintaining a healthy lifestyle can reduce the degree of bone loss. Begin a regular exercise program. Exercises that make your muscles work against gravity (such as walking, jogging, aerobics, and weightlifting) are best for strengthening bones.
A skeleton's overall size and sturdiness give some clues. Within the same population, males tend to have larger, more robust bones and joint surfaces, and more bone development at muscle attachment sites. However, the pelvis is the best sex-related skeletal indicator, because of distinct features adapted for childbearing. The skull also has features that can indicate sex, though slightly less reliably.
A report in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences may provide some answers. Researchers led by Christopher Ruff, professor in the center for functional anatomy and evolution at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, and his colleagues decided to find out which force was responsible for driving the lightening of our bones. Using bone samples from 1,842 people collected from all over Europe from the Paleolithic period (11,000 to 33,000 years ago) to the 20th century, they found that the biggest shift in bone strength came with the move from a hunter-gatherer way of living to an agricultural one. The move to more settled and permanent living arrangements had a dramatic effect on changes in the human skeleton. Since that time, the bones of Homo sapiens have remained relatively similar. 041b061a72