The aging processes that occur in the body of every person who has reached adulthood are reflected not only in his appearance. In all tissues of the body, over time, various physiological processes occur, which, to one degree or another, depend on the age of the person.
Metabolism or metabolism in the body – one of the main processes on which the coherence and efficiency of all systems and organs depends. Osteoporosis is one of the most common metabolic diseases that manifests itself with age. What methods can be used to recognize osteoporosis – read on estet-portal.com.
Causes and characteristic symptoms of osteoporosis
Osteoporosis is a metabolic disease of the skeleton characterized by a decrease in bone strength and an increased risk of bone fractures. Osteoporosis affects mainly older women, which is explained by the effect of estrogen deficiency on bone tissue. At least one third of postmenopausal women are diagnosed with osteoporosis.
The main danger of the disease lies in the fact that disorders in the bone tissue cause a high risk of bone fractures, quite often in the area of the femoral neck.
Such fractures are very dangerous, since in a large percentage of cases during the first 6 months after the fracture, a fatal outcome is possible.
Osteoporosis:
- causes of primary and secondary osteoporosis;
- clinical picture of osteoporosis: features of fractures;
- Laboratory and instrumental methods for diagnosing osteoporosis.
Causes of primary and secondary osteoporosis
Osteoporosis is a multifactorial disease, the etiology of which is currently well understood. It is known that osteoporosis can be primary, developing against the background of changes in the hormonal background, & nbsp; as well as secondary, arising against the background of the following pathologies:
- diseases of the endocrine system;
- rheumatic diseases;
- diseases of the digestive system;
- kidney disease;
- hematological diseases;
- genetic disorders;
- taking certain medications.
Bone fractures that occur against the background of osteoporosis are caused by a decrease in bone mass, as well as damage to its microarchitectonics.
Clinical picture of osteoporosis: features of fractures
In most cases, it is rather difficult to suspect osteoporosis, since the disease is asymptomatic and its first sign may be a bone fracture. Fractures in osteoporosis can be of different localization, but the most typical for the disease are fractures of the vertebral bodies and tubular bones. The occurrence of a fracture leads to & nbsp; to the development of pain syndrome, as well as deformities and functional insufficiency.
The characteristic symptoms of vertebral body fractures are a decrease in the patient's height, an increase in thoracic kyphosis, a decrease in the volume of the abdominal cavity, pain syndrome and a decrease in working capacity. If a person's height has decreased by more than 2.5 cm in a year or 4 cm in a lifetime – he should be suspected of having osteoporosis.
Read also: "The mechanism of development of menopause symptoms in women"
Laboratory and instrumental methods for diagnosing osteoporosis
The main thing in the diagnostic process of osteoporosis is the assessment of the level of metabolism in the bone tissue, as well as the establishment of osteopenia – reduced bone density, and finding out its causes. For this, the following laboratory and instrumental research methods are used:
- X-ray examination of the bones of the skeleton – defines pronounced stages of osteoporosis, makes it possible to diagnose fractures;
- osteodensitometry – allows you to identify the degree of bone mass loss, evaluate the dynamics of bone mineral density in the process of disease development and the effectiveness of therapy;
- laboratory studies to assess the state of bone tissue metabolism: indicators of calcium-phosphorus metabolism, biochemical markers of bone metabolism, morphological parameters of bone metabolism.
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