|
|
|
||||||||
|
Home | Symptoms & Risks | Ask A Doctor
| Q & A Library | Find a Physician | Choose a Pharmacist | Site Map Speaking
Schedule | The Book
| About the Author | Herbs | Nutritional
Supplements | Your Hormones | Seminar Questionnaire | Lab Tests | Hormone Choices | Resources for Women | Pharmacists Resources | Physicians Resources |
|||||||||
|
Stay informed with the Menopause Type® E-News. Now
available for free. Subscribe
Now! |
|||||||||
|
|
|
||||||||
|
|
|||||||||
|
Managing Your Menopause Type® Educational
Class |
|||||||||
|
Session Three - Your Risks of Disease |
|||||||||
|
|
|||||||||
|
Osteoporosis |
|||||||||
|
Osteoporosis is a condition that affects
postmenopausal women at an alarming rate. There is a decrease in bone mass and
decreased bone density with enlarged spaces in the bone making them more
porous and fragile. Osteoporosis can cause an increased risk for fractures of
the wrist, the spine and the hip in women. Hip fractures are the most
devastating consequence of osteoporosis. About 50% of women who have had a
hip fracture are subsequently unable to walk without assistance and 25%
require permanent long-term care. As many as 20 to 25% of women who fracture
their hip will die within the first year after the fracture. |
|||||||||
|
Osteoporosis
is a “silent disease” - a disease without symptoms. You do not feel osteoporosis, you feel the consequences of it. Women who
develop osteoporosis may not know they have it until they have a fractured
bone. The vertebrae (spinal bones) may collapse and cause severe back pain,
or there may be no pain at first - only a loss of height. When you see a
postmenopausal woman who has said she is "shorter", or has the
"Dowagers hump" (kyphosis) or a stooped
posture, you are seeing the effects of osteoporosis. Osteoporosis can also
result in tooth loss, due to bone loss in the jaw. |
|||||||||
|
There are a
number of bone study tests available. These tests can be used to evaluate the
risk for developing osteoporosis, or the degree of osteoporosis, if it is
already present. |
|||||||||
|
|
|||||||||
|
Bone Study
Tests fall in two major categories: |
|||||||||
|
|
Bone Densitometry: tests that measure the actual
density of the bone using radiography |
||||||||
|
|
There are many
different ways to measure how dense, or how strong, your bones are.
Typically, when you go to a healthcare professional for bone densitometry you
will be tested with one of the following methods. |
||||||||
|
|
Dual Energy X-ray Absorptiometry (DEXA) - a special type of X-ray Single Energy X-ray
Absorptiometry (SXA) - a special type of X-ray Quantitative
Computed Tomography (QCT) - similar to a CAT scan Radiographic Absorptiometry - a special type of X-ray Radiogrammy - a special type of X-ray Conventional
Radiographic Reading - a regular X-ray Quantitative
Ultrasound - many different types of machines that use ultrasound instead
of type of X-ray |
||||||||
|
|
|||||||||
|
|
Biochemical Markers: Lab tests that measure the metabolism
of bone and how fast it is being broken down or rebuilt. These lab tests
measure the rate of the bone formation (building) or bone resorption
(breaking down and absorbing) by measuring substances in your serum (blood)
or urine. |
||||||||
|
|
To fully
understand how we can learn about your bones by testing blood and urine, it
is important to know basic bone
metabolism. |
||||||||
|
|
Bones
consist of living tissue as well as mineral deposits, such as calcium,
phosphorus, fluoride, magnesium, iron, zinc, copper, manganese, etc. Like all
living tissues, bone needs nourishment to stay strong and healthy. Bone is
constantly being broken down and being rebuilt in a process called
remodeling. Remodeling has two parts to it. |
||||||||
|
|
First, there
is bone resorption,
in which bone is being broken down and re-absorbed back into the blood. Bone resorption is accomplished by certain bone cells called osteoclasts.
An easy way to remember what osteoclasts do is
"osteoclasts
clear away bone". |
||||||||
|
|
Next, there
is bone formation, in which new bone is being formed. Bone formation is
accomplished by certain bone cells called osteoblasts. An easy way to
remember what osteoblasts do is "osteoblasts build bone". |
||||||||
|
|
Normal bone
remodeling tells a lot about how healthy your bones are. Measuring bone
formation (osteoblast activity) and bone resorption (osteoclast
activity) can determine your risk for osteoporosis. |
||||||||
|
|
|||||||||
|
|
Bone Formation Lab Tests that measure
osteoblast activity include: |
||||||||
|
|
Total Alkaline Phosphatase - a blood test Bone Specific
Alkaline Phosphatase - a blood test Osteocalcin - a blood test Procollagen type 1 carboxy-terminal
propeptide (P1CP) - a blood test Procollagen type 1 amino-terminal propeptide (P1NP) - a blood test |
||||||||
|
|
|||||||||
|
|
Bone Resorption
Lab Tests that measure osteoclast activity. |
||||||||
|
|
C-Telopeptide (crosslaps, CTx) – blood or
urine N-Telopeptide of type 1 collagen (NTx)
- blood or urine Pyridinium (Pyd) - urine Deoxypyridinium (D-Pyd) – urine Hydroxyproline ) – urine Tartrate-Resistant Acid Phosphatase
(TRAP) – blood or urine |
||||||||
|
|
|||||||||
|
In
the clinical setting, physicians and other healthcare professionals will use bone
densitometry to determine the degree of bone loss that has already occurred
and blood or urine tests to determine if the bone loss is continuing, and the
rate of bone loss. |
|||||||||
|
|
|||||||||
|
An
ideal way to measure bone loss is to
evaluate urinary levels of both pyridinium (Pyd) and deoxypyridinium (D-Pyd). If both of these are elevated, it strongly suggests
that there is an increased rate of bone loss taking place. Therapies to
preserve bone should be started under such circumstances. Because this is a
urine test, and does not require blood draw, follow-up testing is easier. |
|||||||||
|
|
|||||||||
|
Other
tests may be ordered for a more in depth osteoporosis evaluation work-up if necessary
such as Vitamin D levels, calcitonin or other
hormones that can affect bone health, including estradiol, progesterone and
testosterone. |
|||||||||
|
|
|||||||||
|
What this means to you |
|||||||||
|
Knowing your risk for
osteoporosis will allow you to make choices to decrease those risks. |
|||||||||
|
As
noted, an ideal way to measure bone loss is to evaluate urinary levels of
both pyridinium (Pyd) and
deoxypyridinium (D-Pyd). |
|||||||||
|
In
addition to weight bearing exercise such as walking, and a healthy diet,
postmenopausal women should also take 1,000 to 1,500 mg of calcium a day, as
well as 400 to 800 I.U. of Vitamin D a day. Consider using microcrystalline hydroxyapatite concentrate (MCHC) as your source of
calcium supplementation. MCHC is a complex crystalline compound derived from
bone of free-range cattle. It is composed primarily of calcium, phosphorus,
delicate organic factors and protein matrix, and a full spectrum of trace
minerals that naturally comprise healthy bone. |
|||||||||
|
A follow-up urinary
levels pyridinium (Pyd)
and deoxypyridinium (D-Pyd)
should be done after you have been on a healthy bone program for a few
months. |
|||||||||
|
|
|||||||||
|
The extensive Professional Management of Menopause
Type® Seminar is available to healthcare professionals as a
component of the Management of Menopause Types® Program.
Women are advised to Find a Physician & Choose a Pharmacist that are have
been trained in Management of Menopause Type® Program |
|||||||||
|
|
|||||||||
|
What's
Next? |
|||||||||
|
Learn how to
determine your risk for heart diseases, and what you can do to prevent and
even reverse these life-threatening diseases. |
|||||||||
|
|
|||||||||
|
|
|
||||||||
|
The Managing Your Menopause Type® Educational Class
is provided to the public without charge. This information is provided for
education purposes only, and is not intended to prescribe treatment. Consult
a physician, pharmacist or other healthcare professional regarding the
applicability of any opinions or recommendations with respect to your
symptoms or medical condition. |
|||||||||
|
This public education class does not provide
physicians, pharmacists or other healthcare professional with the extensive
training and ongoing education provided within the Management of Menopause Type®
Program. |
|||||||||
|
The extensive Professional Management of Menopause
Type® Seminar is available to healthcare professionals as a
component of the Management
of Menopause Types® Program. |
|||||||||
|
Menopause Type® is a Registered
Trademark of YourMenopauseType.com. |
|||||||||
|
© 1999 - 2001 by YourMenopauseType.com. |
|||||||||
|
|
|||||||||
|
|
|||||||||
|
YourMenopauseType.com, Inc. |
|||||||||
