Electronic medical records and outreach programs of e-mail messages, letters and phone calls to patients and their primary care providers after a bone fracture can dramatically improve the diagnosis and management of the patients’ osteoporosis, according to a Kaiser Permanente study in the September issue of the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.

According to the National Osteoporosis Foundation, osteoporosis affects more than 2 million men in the United States and nearly 12 million more have osteopenia—clinically significant low bone density that is less severe than osteoporosis.

Researchers have discovered that the structure of human bones is vastly different than previously believed – findings which will have implications for how some debilitating bone disorders are treated.

Researchers in the United Kingdom and Germany are reporting that one of the most fundamental scientific beliefs about the structure of human bone is incomplete -- a finding they say could have sweeping impact on treatments for osteoporosis and other bone disorders.

Researchers at Hebrew SeniorLife’s Institute for Aging Research (IFAR) have examined close to 100,000 genetic markers for low bone mass and aging to help determine which genes are responsible for the development of osteoporosis and longevity.

Gender influences the prevalence and progression rate of many renal diseases, such as polycystic kidney disease (PKD). The physiology behind gender differences and renal disease is still uncertain, but the distinct characteristics of male and female kidney size, along with diet and the presence of hypertension, have all been thought to play a part.

It may be cost-effective to screen and treat selected older men with osteoporosis, depending on their age and if they have had a prior fracture, according to a study in the August 8 issue of JAMA.

Glycine is a non-essential amino acid used by the organism to synthesise proteins and is present in foods such as fish, meat or dairy products.

According to the U.S. Department of Census, the number of centenarians could cross the 4 million mark by 2050. Although approximately 40 percent of centenarians are functionally independent, they are among those at the highest risk for disabling arthritis and fractures due to osteoporosis.

Researchers in the United Kingdom have found that patients with COPD, or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, have greater arterial stiffness. The researchers also found that those COPD patients with osteoporosis, a common complication of the respiratory disease, had even greater arterial stiffness.

Pediatricians now have a practical tool to help determine whether children with chronic diseases like Crohn's, juvenile arthritis and anorexia nervosa -- or those undergoing cancer treatment -- are at increased risk for bone mass deficiencies, fracture or osteoporosis as they get older, according to a new study whose lead author is a researcher at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center.

Women who follow strict exercise and diet regimens may harm their body's ability to form new bone, which can lead to osteoporosis later in life. Researchers recommend that the more women exercise, the more they need to eat to stay healthy.