Osteoporosis is a condition of the bones in which calcium is lost and the bones become weak or brittle, often leading to fracture or breakage. (2) The condition usually occurs with age, and women are especially prone to the disease. According to statistics, osteoporosis affects more than forty-four million Americans and contributes to an estimated two million bone fractures per year (1). The most common occurrence of fractures takes place in hips, arms, legs, and wrists. Even a simple fall can cause a fracture if osteoporosis has taken over the bones.

In the early stages of osteoporosis, there are usually no symptoms. Doctors use a bone mineral density test to determine the amount of bone lost. They also use this test to predict whether someone is at risk for osteoporosis in the future, or they can see if the treatments are working as they should (1). Hip fractures are the most serious of the fractures. They can lead to a lifetime of assisted care, and typically patients are always required to use a walking cane. Women are especially prone because estrogen levels drop during menopause, putting them at an even greater risk (2).

Preventing osteoporosis is important in preventing injuries in individuals as they age. The three factors involved in preventing bone loss are calcium, Vitamin D, and daily exercise. First of all, taking in the proper amounts of calcium will build bones and help in maintaining healthy bones. Milk, yogurt, and cheese are all excellent sources of calcium. Secondly, Vitamin D helps in the absorption of calcium in the body. Lastly, exercise is always an important factor in building bone and muscle strength (1).

Works Cited

1.) Osteoporosis Orthroinfo. American Academy of Orthropaedic Surgeons. 11 October 2012 http://orthoinfo.aaos.org/topic.cfm?topic=a00232>

2.) Overview of Osteoporosis.　 New York Times, October 11, 2012 issue. 11 October 2012 http://health.nytimes.com/health/guides/disease/osteoporosis/overview.html>

Bone remodeling is the process in which osteoclasts break down bone and osteoblasts build it back up (Tortora and Derrickson 2012). With increased use, the bone is made stronger. With decreased use, the bone is made weaker. For example, when bones are subjected to extended periods of time without stress they lose density. This is because the body always tries to maintain homeostasis and doesn’t want to function at a higher level than it has to. Conversely, when the bone is stressed, it becomes stronger. One of several aspects of bone remodeling is the repair of damage to bone. With each repair the bone becomes thicker and stronger at the point of damage. This damage does not always have to be a traumatic break. It can be micro trauma caused by everyday activity.

Runners are one portion of the population that relies heavily on bone remodeling to enjoy their sport. Runners put tremendous stress on their bones and muscles as they run. For some runners, they break down their bones at a faster rate than they can be repaired. When this happens, the result is a stress fracture (Lovett 2008).  He lists four criteria from sports scientist Tim Noakes that are useful in deciding whether or not you have a stress fracture. “1. It comes on without warning 2. There is no other obvious explanation 3. You can sometimes find a spot on the bone so tender that pressing on it will produce a pain he describes as “exquisite” or “nauseating”; and 4. It fails the hop test, which means it hurts if you hop on the injured leg.” He lists several risk factors for stress fractures. They are, increasing training volume too much too soon, insufficient muscularity. He further elaborates saying that muscles act as shock absorbers and those with more developed muscles put less stress on their bones.

This is useful information because a surprising amount of runners have to deal with stress fractures. Knowledge is power in preventing injuries. By making sure that they maintain muscular development and not over training runners can reduce the chance of getting stress fractures.

Literature Cited:

Tortora G.J. and B. Derrickson. 2012.  Principles of Anatomy and Physiology.  13^th ed., John Wiley and Sons.

Lovett, R.A.  “Owner’s Manual: Is it a stress fracture?” Running Times. March 2008. http://www.runningtimes.com/Article.aspx?ArticleID=12894&PageNum=&CategoryID=

As we have learned in chapters 5 and 6, through the course of life, people age both internally and externally. As people age externally, their skin shows signs of wrinkles and so called “liver spots” appear. Their hair begins to lose it color. As people age internally, they are at risk of getting certain diseases because their immune systems are weakened and/or because the disease is inherited from a family member and is just now making an appearance.  An example is osteoporosis. Osteoporosis is a disease that could be genetic, and causes bone to become brittle which, in turn, makes them easier to break.

Osteoporosis is caused when the bone quality is lowered (1). This disease is a health threat to millions of Americans (1). If left untreated, it can progress but will not cause pain until a person breaks a bone (1). Osteoporosis takes many years to develop and may take a person a numerous amount of time to realize they have the disease(1). Signs that help indicate whether or not a person has osteoporosis includes joint pains and having difficulty in either standing or sitting up (1). Gender raises the possibility of having osteoporosis. For instance, women are more likely to develop osteoporosis when compared to men because they go through menopause which speeds up bone loss. Menopause speeds up bone loss because the body stops producing estrogen (1). Age can raise the chance of having this disease because as a person ages their bone mass lowers (1). Family history also raises the chance of having osteoporosis. For instance, if a close family member has osteoporosis, people within that family are more likely to develop the disease(1). There are many things people can do to try to prevent/delay this disease from occurring such as taking vitamins and exercising. For instance, people can start taking vitamin D tablets to better absorb calcium (1). By doing daily exercises prevent/delay the occurrence of osteoporosis (2).

The prevention of osteoporosis is significant to people’s health. Granted, it may take many years to show the signs of osteoporosis. Although it may take several years to see the signs of the disease, people need to go ahead and take the necessary precautions to prevent the disease, especially if they are elderly and people within their families have the disease. If these people do not take the actions necessary to prevent or delay the occurrence of this disease such as exercising or taking vitamins, by the time they realize they have it, the damage had already been done to their bones.

1.) Nordqvist,Christian  “What is Osteoporosis? What causes Osteoporosis?” MNT: Medical News Today. 28 June 2009. 2 Oct. 2012 http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/155646.php

2.) Mayo Clinic Staff  “Osteoporosis.” 13 Dec. 2011. 18 Oct. 2012 <http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/osteoporosis/DS00128/DESECTION=prevention>

According to the article “Computerized osteoporosis detection” from the ScienceDaily, osteoporosis is increasing but X-ray imaging has not improved. Osteoporosis occurs when the breakdown of bone is faster than the production, and the main cause of this is the low amount of calcium in the body (Tortora). The disease can be treated with early detection but because X-ray imaging has not advanced, detection tends to occur in later-stages of the disease. However, a breakthrough in X-ray imaging has been made by Neelesh Kumar of the Central Scientific Instruments Organization in Chandigarh, India, and colleagues (2012, October 1).

Using a sophisticated computer algorithm they have made digitizing x-rays possible, and this leads to a better view of the bone therefore detecting osteoporosis becomes more accurate. The article also states that, because of the errors that can occur in the x-ray film, an incorrect diagnosis can be made, even by experts. This computerized system is able to work with the input of previous accurate x-ray images, and once the computer analyzes the bone it compares the bone to the x-rays in its database to conclude if it’s a positive or negative result. The testing of this new technique has been performed, and according to the results there is less than 2 percent error rate. However, because more input can added to the databases the results can become more accurate.

Although this program was created to better diagnose osteoporosis, it can be used for the diagnosis of different bone diseases and breaks. This technique can be implemented in public hospitals because new equipment would not be required, and this would lead to an accurate diagnosis for everyone. With earlier detection, the life span of those affected by this disease would increase. The half-million fractures that occur in the United States because of osteoporosis would decrease significantly with this new program.

Nevi, more commonly known as moles, are chronic lesions of the skin. They usually form during childhood or adolescence and are the result from melanocytes growing in clumps, instead of being evenly distributed throughout the skin. Moles can be raised or flat and are typically benign and symmetrically shaped. Most people think moles serve no purpose and regard them as nothing more than an annoyance. However, new research says they might alert people of their risk of developing mesothelioma, a potentially life-threatening cancer of the mesothelial membranes that envelop and protect internal organs.

Researchers at the University of Hawaii, one of the most renowned mesothelioma research centers in the world, have discovered a type of mole present on people who have a genetic mutation on the BAP1 gene.  This mole is known as a melanocytic BAP1-mutated atypical intradermal tumor or MBAIT. Although its unique characteristics can only be identified by biopsy and examination by a pathologist, patients and doctors are encouraged to monitor skin changes that may signify a risk for mesothelioma.

This research might stop people from regarding moles as a merely beauty blemishes. They may come to realize that some moles are a significant indicator of deadly cancers. Though only medical experts can distinguish those types of moles from ordinary moles, they should become more aware and cautious of any that they might have. Thanks to these findings, people might have their moles more frequently examined by doctors, leading to early cancer detection and more saved lives.

Sources: J. Tortora, Gerald, and Bryan Derrickson. Principles of Anatomy and Physiology. 13th ed. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Hoboken NJ, USA  2012. Page 160. Print.

“Moles Could Point to Mesothelioma Risk.” Surviving Mesothelioma: A Patient’s Guide. Surviving Mesothelioma and Cancer Monthly, 22 Sep 2012. Web. 24 Sep 2012.

Osteoporosis is caused by a decrease in bone mass. The name literally means a condition of porous bones. Osteoporosis affects around 10 million people in the world, 80% of those being women. During osteoporosis, bones can become so fragile that a cough or a fall could break a bone (Tortora and Derrickson 193).

X-rays of a patient’s skeletal system can often lead to a false positive or false negative when diagnosing osteoporosis. Scientists in India have developed a digitalized X-ray that estimates the bone density. Computerized x-rays can diagnose osteoporosis earlier which would give patients a better chance of getting treated successfully. The error rate for the computerized system is less than 2% as the system was tested on 40 elderly Asians (Ang).

This new technology can help many people live much easier lives. By early detection of osteoporosis, many of the men and women can get the proper treatment to keep their bones from losing mass. This technology could be the start of finding a cure to completely abolishing the disease. This could help future generations to live healthy lives with strong bones.

Ang, Albert. “Computerized Osteoporosis Ditection.” EurekAlert. Inderscience Publishers, n.d. Web. 4 Oct. 2012.

Tortora, Gerard, and Bryan Derrickson.Principles of Anatomy and Physiology. 2009. Print.

The skeletal system is extremely complex, consisting of various types of bones and joints. It’s health is susceptible to strenuous activity, changes in diet, and changes in hormone balances. In order for the skeletal system to maintain proper homeostasis, various factors have to be properly balanced, and the bones have to be able to respond to changes when the need arises. However, there is a limit to the bones’ ability to respond to such condition changes, and when they are unable to maintain homeostasis damage occurs. This may not be acute damage, but can also occur in the form of damage over time.

One factor that can damage bone quality slowly over time is sleep deprivation. While other factors are more widely cited as contributing to bone damage, recent research is showing a strong correlation between sleep deprivation and bone damage. According to a study published in the journal “Experimental Biology and Medicine,” sleep-deprived rats had lower levels of mineral density in their bones, and less fat in the yellow marrow of their bones than well-rested rats. The study did not conclude whether the findings were applicable to humans, although further research will surely delve into the topic.

If the findings are concluded to be consistent in humans, this could provide great insight into the various contributing factors that plague people with bone-density problems. This research could nicely compliment research that focuses on other effects on bone health, such as hormonal and dietary. It also contributes to providing a more holistic approach to health and wellness, and to treatments of various bone disorders.

Huffington Post, (2012). “Sleep Deprivation Could Be Bad For Bones.” http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/26/sleep-deprivation-bones-marrow_n_1898610.html

Spencer, B.L., Binkley, T., Vukovich, M., Beare, T., (2007). Volumetric Bone Mineral Density and Bone Size in Sleep-Deprived Individuals. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16909195

I have chosen to research the uses and benefits of umbilical cord blood. This special blood has to be retrieved at the time of birth and is specific to each individual. The collecting of the umbilical cord blood is something that has not been around for a long period of time but is becoming more known as time goes on.

Recently, scientists conducted a study on the benefits of umbilical cord blood. However, umbilical blood can be disadvantageous compared to traditional transplants due to the large amount of time it requires to prepare the transplant and the small number of stem cells that can be extracted from one unit of the blood. However, the advantage of a perfect transplant match to a patient often outweighs the disadvantage of recovering the stem cells and preparing the transplant tissue.

If more people would recognize the benefits of umbilical cord blood it would help the world tremendously. First, the stem cells can replace cells that have been damaged by disease. Second, the stem cells can “give rise to white blood cells and other components of the blood system” (Fred).  This would be very beneficial to a person with a blood disorder such as the unfortunately common disease Leukemia.

1.Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. “First successful use of expanded umbilical-cord blood units to treat leukemia.” ScienceDaily. 18 Jan. 2010. Web. 6 Sep. 2012.