For years, guidelines from various organizations have recommended osteoporosis screening in women and men starting at a specific age or based on specific risk factors. Among these guidelines are those developed by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) that recommend universal osteoporosis screening for women 65 years of age and older and for targeted…
NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—Obesity and higher fat mass are associated with increased levels of inflammatory markers in women with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), researchers report. “Physicians should recognize that C-reactive protein (CRP) and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) are affected by obesity in patients with and without rheumatoid arthritis, especially in women,” Dr. Michael D. George from the University of…
Injectable abaloparatide is being evaluated in the U.S. and Europe to treat postmenopausal women with osteoporosis…
(Reuters Health)—Women and minorities face more barriers to getting ahead in their medical careers, both early in training and later on, researchers say. In one study, Dr. Julie Boiko of the University of California, San Francisco, and colleagues found that women are underrepresented among speakers at grand rounds. This was true for all but two…
(Reuters Health)—Women with osteoporosis who take bisphosphonates to help avoid fractures still need to have their bone density monitored, a Canadian study suggests. Researchers who studied more than 6,600 women taking osteoporosis drugs found that for nearly one in five, bone mineral density at the hip actually decreased after the women started taking the medication….
NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—Gastrointestinal side effects are the most common reason osteoporotic women cite for nonadherence to oral bisphosphonate therapy, according to a new survey. “Our findings highlight the importance of low tolerability to nonadherence with osteoporosis therapy and underlines patients’ poor awareness and suboptimal physicians’ involvement in conveying the importance of this therapy,” Dr….
Bone health has been successfully improved by using probiotics to influence the gut microbiome in postmenopausal women with osteoporosis. New research has gained insight into this process, uncovering that sex steroid depletion increases gut permeability resulting in inflammation and pathology in mice. Treatment with probiotics also prevents this increase in gut permeability and bone loss associated with sex steroid depletion…
Two studies have shown that romosozumab is effective for increasing bone mineral density in both men and women with osteoporosis. And due to safety concerns, Janssen has dropped out of clinical trials for fulranumab, which is being studied to treat OA pain…
NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—The investigational drug abaloparatide may help postmenopausal women increase their bone mineral density (BMD) and reduce their risk of fracture, new industry research suggests. “What was surprising and very important about this study was that, although some drugs for osteoporosis don’t work across all patient subgroups, abaloparatide provided persistent protection against fracture…
NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—The combination of denosumab and teriparatide improves bone microarchitecture and estimated strength more than either drug alone in women with severe postmenopausal osteoporosis, researchers have found. Dr. Joy Tsai, from Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, and colleagues conducted a single-site, two-year, open-label, randomized controlled trial involving 94 women aged 45 or older…