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Medical Forum / Diseases and Disorders / Lupus / December 2008Article "Attention to bones important in women with Lupus "
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Among premenopausal women taking steroids for lupus, various treatments preserve bone mineral density and "should be considered" for preventing the bone-thinning disease osteoporosis, advise researchers in a report published this month. Lupus, technically known as systemic lupus erythematosus or SLE, is a chronic "autoimmune" disease in which the immune system can confuse healthy and foreign tissues and sometimes attacks both. "Whether due to the corticosteroid treatment, or to the disease itself, osteoporosis is being increasingly recognized in patients with SLE," Dr. Swan S. Yeap, of the University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, and colleagues explain in the Journal of Rheumatology. Yeap's team assessed changes over 2 years in bone mineral density (BMD) in 98 premenopausal women with SLE on long-term steroid therapy while taking calcium only, calcium plus calcitriol (the active form of vitamin D) or calcium plus the bone-strengthening drug alendronate (Fosamax). Women taking calcium plus alendronate saw significant increases in BMD at both the lumbar spine (2.69 percent) and hip (1.41 percent) compared to baseline, the researchers report. In contrast, there were no significant changes found in the calcium-only and the calcium plus calcitriol groups, except for a 0.93 percent reduction in hip BMD in the calcium-only group. The medications were well tolerated. In premenopausal women taking steroids for SLE, the researchers conclude, bone mineral density can be preserved or increased with prophylactic therapy. SOURCE: Journal of Rheumatology, December 2008. osteoporosis is being increasingly recognized in patients with SLE << Seeing that lupus is related to sickle it should then be no surprise everyone with sickle ALSO are prone to osteoporosis .. Sickle cell anaemia: is it a cause for secondary osteoporosis? Published in West Afr J Med. 2007 Apr-Jun;26(2):134-7. Sadat-Ali M, Al Elq AH. Department of Orthpaedic Surgery, King Fahd University Hospital, Al- Khobar, Saudi Araia. drsadat@hotmail.com OBJECTIVE: The risk of osteoporosis and osteopenia i s patients with sickle cell anaemia is not well established. This prospective study was conducted to assess the prevalence of osteoporosis and osteopenia in sickle cell anaemia. METHODS: Consecutive adult sickle cell anaemia patients who were treated at the department of orthopaedic surgery of King Fahd University Hospital, AIKhobar, SaudiArabia, between April and July 2006, were the subjects of study. After a verbal consent to participate in the study, patients age and sex were documented and body mass index (BMI) was calculated. Blood was extracted for haematological and biochemistry which also included haemoglobin electrophoresis. Bone mineral density (BMD) measurement was done using dual energy x-rayabsorbtiometry (DEXA) at the lumbar spine and the upper femur. Osteopenia and osteoporosis was diagnosed as per the WHO criteria. RESULTS: The results of 36 patients were analyzed. There were 23 males and 13 females. The average age in males was 34.21+/-6.35 years, and females was 35.38+/-5.40 years. Eighty-two percent of males and 76% of the females were either osteopenic or osteoporotic. The prevalence of osteoporosis in males was highest at lumbar spine (P= 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: This study finds the prevalence of osteopenia and osteoporosis is quite high among Saudi adult SCA patients. Physicians should be aware of the risk of osteoporosis in sickle cell patients and every effort should be made to treat them adequately and prevent osteoporosis related fractures. Who loves ya. Tom Jesus Was A Vegetarian! http://tinyurl.com/634q5a Man Is A Herbivore! http://tinyurl.com/4rq595 DEAD PEOPLE WALKING http://tinyurl.com/zk9fk > NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Among premenopausal women taking steroids for > lupus, various treatments preserve bone mineral density and "should be [quoted text clipped - 28 lines] > > SOURCE: Journal of Rheumatology, December 2008. |
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