title: The latest from the ivd industry: prevention, diagnosis and therapy of osteoporosis.
abstract: At first glance the human bone appears to be solid, rigid and unchangeable. But in point of fact this is not so, for a process of change is continuously going on, during which bone mass is resorbed and formed. Up until the age of 30 bone mass continues to be formed, although at an increasingly slower pace. A few years of equilibrium between bone formation and bone resorption follow. Thereafter, from about the age of 40, a continuous slow loss of bone mass sets in. This is considered to be a normal process of aging. But if the speed of resorption exceeds a certain degree and bone resorption increases, osteoporosis can develop after several years. Osteoporosis is therefore an illness in which bone mass has been massively resorbed over the past years and/or is being acutely resorbed. Given the altered demographic structure--an ever larger number of people living to an advanced age--the number of people affected by osteoporosis is increasing. Once the bone loss reaches a certain degree, there is a greater susceptibility to bone fractures. Particularly affected are the vertebrae, the neck of the femur, and the forearm.
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D001862:Bone Resorption / Q000175:diagnosis; D003094:Collagen / Q000097:blood; D024042:Collagen Type I; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015663:Osteoporosis, Postmenopausal / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000628:therapy*; D010455:Peptides / Q000097:blood
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D024042:Collagen Type I; D010455:Peptides; C052929:collagen type I trimeric cross-linked peptide; D003094:Collagen