title: The genetics of osteoporosis.
abstract: Osteoporosis is a common health problem among the elderly, especially postmenopausal women. It is characterized by fragile bones susceptible to low-trauma fractures. Osteoporosis is a complex disease determined by genetic and environmental factors, as well as the possible interactions among these factors. Twin and family studies have shown that genetic factors play an important role in osteoporosis. Numerous genetic studies have been performed to hunt for genes underlying the disease risk. In this review, we briefly summarize and discuss the current status of knowledge about osteoporosis, with special emphasis on the progress achieved recently in: 1) heritability and choice of osteoporosis study phenotypes; 2) the approaches for gene mapping and identification for osteoporosis; 3) the candidate gene association studies; 4) the linkage mapping studies for osteoporosis; 5) some potential explanations for the inconsistent results; and 6) the pharmacogenetic studies for osteoporosis.
authors.affiliation: Osteoporosis Research Center, Creighton University, Omaha, Nebraska, USA.
authors.forename: Ji-Rong
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Long
authors.forename: Dong-Hai
authors.initials: DH
authors.lastname: Xiong
authors.forename: Robert R
authors.initials: RR
authors.lastname: Recker
authors.forename: Hong-Wen
authors.initials: HW
authors.lastname: Deng
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling / Q000379:methods; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D010024:Osteoporosis / Q000191:economics / Q000235:genetics* / Q000473:pathology; D040901:Proteomics / Q000379:methods; D012307:Risk Factors