Osteoporosis

What is Osteoporosis?

• Osteoporosis is a progressive bone disease that is characterized by a decrease in bone mass and density which can lead to an increased risk of fracture.

What causes Osteoporosis?

• Osteoporosis occurs when there is an imbalance between new bone formation and old bone resorption. The body may fail to form enough new bone, or too much old bone may be reabsorbed, or both.

Endocrine System

• Aging is another cause of osteoporosis.
• With increasing age, the pituitary gland can become smaller and may not work as well. For example, production of growth hormone might decrease. Decreased growth hormone levels in older people leads to problems such as muscle decrease, decreased heart function, and osteoporosis.

Growth Hormone

• Growth Hormone (GH) is a growth promoting hormone produced by the pituitary gland. It is "anabolic", which means it stimulates bone formation.

Growth Hormone

• Growth hormone plays an important role in sustaining good bone density up to the age of 30 years. After the age of 30 years, GH levels in the body drop considerably, and this affects bone mineralization to a huge extent. Bone density is healthy up to the age of 30 years, after which, it tends to reduce, and results in Osteoporosis.

Untitled Slide