Page 170 - 86 human physiology part-2

Development: Birth Through Death

Osteoporosis

Osteoporosis is a skeletal disease resulting in bone loss and changes in the bone quality that leads
to diminished bone strength and an increased risk to sustain fractures. The main cause of osteoporosis
is a loss estrogen following menopause. Osteoporosis can be prevented and treated using a number of
different drugs and lifestyle modifications including proper diet, exercise and hormone replacement
therapy. The link to Wikipedia Osteoporosis is a great source of additional information.

Preventing Osteoporosis The old saying that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure
holds true for osteoporosis. In researching osteoporosis I found that while there are some treatments for
osteoporosis, a healthy lifestyle throughout your life is a much more effective way of combating the
effects of this disease. It is generally acknowledged that a regular weight bearing exercise plan is
helpful in maintaining bone mass. Additionally, adequate dietary calcium and vitamin D intake
throughout ones life are important factors in building up and maintaining bone mass.

Estrogen and progesterone treatments in postmenopausal women have proven to be effective in
treating bone loss. There are also two groups of drugs that interfere with the re-absorption of bone by
osteoclasts called bisphosphonates and lective estrogen receptor modulators (SERMS).

An estimated 52 million men and woman will be afflicted with crumbling, weakend bone's by the
year 2010. Osteoporosis is three to four time's more common in woman than men. While some men do
get osteoporosis, they are less likley because men have frames that are 25 percent larger than a
womans. Women are also more susceptible because they are more likely than a man to go on a crash
diet. This kind of diet may interfere with the three main factors associated with osteoporosis and having
healthy bones: having enough vitamin D, having enough calcium, and having enough estrogen. There
are approximately 1 million to 1.3 millon hip fractures every year that are related to osteoporosis. Men
on steroids, people with arthritis, people undergoing chemotherapy, along with those suffering from
anorexia all have an increased chance of having bone loss.

Osteoporosis related links

Wikipedia Osteoporosis Page This is a wikipedia link with a complete discussion of osteoporosis.

National Osteoporosis Foundation This page links to the National Osteoporosis Foundation

Old Age

Why do people age?

Some researchers believe we are programmed by an internal biological clock to age. The idea is
that each type of cell, tissue and organ is like a clock that ticks at its own pace. In the body our cells
divide 80 to 90 times at the most. At the end of each chromosome there are repeated stretches of DNA
called telomeres. A bit of each telomere is lost during every cell division. When only a nub remains the
cells stop dividing and die.

A different hypothesis is that aging is a result of accumulated damage to DNA from environmental

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