The treatment of postmenopausal and senile osteoporosis

Abstract

This chapter discusses the current forms of treatment of postmenopausal and senile osteoporosis. In a given patient, postmenopausal osteoporosis lacks definitive biochemical or clinical characteristics and, therefore, is a diagnosis of exclusion. Single photon absorptiometry to measure appendicular bone mineral density at the mid radius or distal radius distinguishes patients with osteoporosis from normal ones poorly but is may be of value in the longitudinal evaluation of appendicular bone mineral. Dual photon absorptiometry can measure bone mineral density at the clinically important sites of fracture: the spine and the hip. This procedure can provide accurate quantitative and noninvasive ..