Osteoporosis is a systemic skeletal disorder characterized by low bone mass, micro-architectural deterioration of bone tissue leading to more porous bone, and consequent increase in fracture risk.
Hypercalcemia, also spelled hypercalcaemia, is a high calcium (Ca2+) level in the blood serum. The normal range is 2.1–2.6 mmol/L (8.8–10.7 mg/dL, 4.3–5.2 mEq/L), with levels greater than 2.6 mmol/L defined as hypercalcemia. Those with a mild increase that has developed slowly typically have no symptoms. In those with greater levels or rapid onset, symptoms may include abdominal pain, bone pain, confusion, depression, weakness, kidney stones or an abnormal heart rhythm including cardiac arrest.
Parathyroid hormone-related protein (PTHrP) is a proteinaceous hormone and a member of the parathyroid hormone family secreted by mesenchymal stem cells. It is occasionally secreted by cancer cells. However, it also has normal functions in bone, teeth, vascular tissues and other tissues.
Bisphosphonates are a class of drugs that prevent the loss of bone density, used to treat osteoporosis and similar diseases. They are the most commonly prescribed drugs used to treat osteoporosis. They are called bisphosphonates because they have two phosphonate groups. They are thus also called diphosphonates.
Alendronic acid, sold under the brand name Fosamax among others, is a bisphosphonate medication used to treat osteoporosis and Paget's disease of bone. It is taken by mouth. Use is often recommended together with vitamin D, calcium supplementation, and lifestyle changes.
Zoledronic acid, also known as zoledronate and sold under the brand name Zometa among others, by Novartis among others, is a medication used to treat a number of bone diseases. These include osteoporosis, high blood calcium due to cancer, bone breakdown due to cancer, Paget's disease of bone and Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). It is given by injection into a vein.
The Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences is one of the constituent faculties of McGill University. It was established in 1829 after the Montreal Medical Institution was incorporated into McGill College as the college's first faculty; it was the first medical faculty to be established in Canada. The Faculty awarded McGill's first degree, and Canada's first medical degree to William Leslie Logie in 1833.
Bone density, or bone mineral density, is the amount of bone mineral in bone tissue. The concept is of mass of mineral per volume of bone, although clinically it is measured by proxy according to optical density per square centimetre of bone surface upon imaging. Bone density measurement is used in clinical medicine as an indirect indicator of osteoporosis and fracture risk. It is measured by a procedure called densitometry, often performed in the radiology or nuclear medicine departments of hospitals or clinics. The measurement is painless and non-invasive and involves low radiation exposure. Measurements are most commonly made over the lumbar spine and over the upper part of the hip. The forearm may be scanned if the hip and lumbar spine are not accessible.
Ibandronic acid is a bisphosphonate medication used in the prevention and treatment of osteoporosis and metastasis-associated skeletal fractures in people with cancer. It may also be used to treat hypercalcemia. It is typically formulated as its sodium salt ibandronate sodium.
Osteonecrosis of the jaw (ONJ) is a severe bone disease (osteonecrosis) that affects the jaws. Various forms of ONJ have been described since 1861, and a number of causes have been suggested in the literature.
Senile osteoporosis has been recently recognized as a geriatric syndrome with a particular pathophysiology. There are different classification of osteoporosis: primary, in which bone loss is a result of aging and secondary, in which bone loss occurs from various clinical and lifestyle factors. Primary, or involuntary osteoporosis, can further be classified into Type I or Type II. Type I refers to postmenopausal osteoporosis and is caused by the deficiency of estrogen. While senile osteoporosis is categorized as an involuntary, Type II, and primary osteoporosis, which affects both men and women over the age of 70 years. It is accompanied by vitamin D deficiency, body's failure to absorb calcium, and increased parathyroid hormone.
Medication-related osteonecrosis of the jaw is progressive death of the jawbone in a person exposed to a medication known to increase the risk of disease, in the absence of a previous radiation treatment. It may lead to surgical complication in the form of impaired wound healing following oral and maxillofacial surgery, periodontal surgery, or endodontic therapy.
Vitamin D deficiency or hypovitaminosis D is a vitamin D level that is below normal. It most commonly occurs in people when they have inadequate exposure to sunlight, particularly sunlight with adequate ultraviolet B rays (UVB). Vitamin D deficiency can also be caused by inadequate nutritional intake of vitamin D; disorders that limit vitamin D absorption; and disorders that impair the conversion of vitamin D to active metabolites, including certain liver, kidney, and hereditary disorders. Deficiency impairs bone mineralization, leading to bone-softening diseases, such as rickets in children. It can also worsen osteomalacia and osteoporosis in adults, increasing the risk of bone fractures. Muscle weakness is also a common symptom of vitamin D deficiency, further increasing the risk of fall and bone fractures in adults. Vitamin D deficiency is associated with the development of schizophrenia.
A health claim found on a food labels and in food marketing is a claim by a food manufacturer that their product will reduce the risk of developing a disease or condition.
Jane A. Cauley is a Distinguished Professor in the Department of Epidemiology and an Associate Dean for Research at the University of Pittsburgh.
Richard Margolese, MD, CM FRCS (C), is a Canadian scientist and has been a leader of multiple research studies that have changed the standard treatment for early-stage breast cancer. He is a native of Montreal, Canada.
A bone growth factor is a growth factor that stimulates the growth of bone tissue.
David Goltzman is a Canadian endocrinologist, Professor of Medicine and Physiology, and A.G. Massabki Chair in Medicine at McGill University in Montreal, Quebec. He has been the Director of the Centre for Bone and Periodontal Research and also holds the position of Senior Scientist at the McGill University Health Centre Research Institute in the Metabolic Disorders and Complications Program.
Rebecca D. Jackson was a medical researcher, medical practitioner and professor of endocrinology, diabetes and metabolism. Her research was significant in the understanding and treatment of osteoporosis. She also researches the opioid crisis in Ohio.
Abida Sophie Jamal is a Canadian endocrinologist and former osteoporosis researcher who was at the centre of a scientific misconduct case in the mid-to-late 2010s. Jamal published a high-profile paper suggesting that the heart medication nitroglycerin was a treatment for osteoporosis, and was later demonstrated to have misrepresented her results. She received a lifetime ban from receiving funding from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and was named directly in their disclosure report, becoming the first person mentioned by name by the institute for scientific misconduct. Jamal was later stripped of her medical license for two years, regaining it in a controversial 3–2 decision.
