Bone Mineral Density

Identifying prevalent vertebral fractures on lateral spine images at the time of a bone density test influenced the subsequent use of osteoporosis therapies among patients, with the greatest impact observed among patients without osteoporosis by bone mineral density criteria, according to findings published in the Journal of Bone and Mineral Research.

Validated prediction models accurately identified low and very low bone mineral density among young, white adult survivors of childhood cancer, according to results of a study published in Journal of Clinical Oncology.

Although almost 25% of patients undergoing total joint arthroplasty were eligible to receive osteoporosis medications, recently published results found 5% of patients received therapy preoperatively or postoperatively.

The therapeutic arsenal for osteoporosis has expanded dramatically since the early 1980s, when the only options were estrogen for women and calcium and vitamin D for men. Today, the picture is much different. Available therapies include estrogen, raloxifene, four different bisphosphonates, the anabolics teriparatide and abaloparatide, and the monoclonal antibody denosumab.