Fracture News and Research

RSS

Electronic medical records improve continuity of care for osteoporosis

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.

22 Oct 2007

Smoking, alcohol, being underweight and poor diet all risk factors for osteoporosis

If you smoke, drink more than two units of alcohol a day, are underweight, don't exercise or eat well, you could be setting yourself up for osteoporosis later in life, according to a new report issued by the International Osteoporosis Foundation (IOF).

22 Oct 2007

Exercise, osteopenia and men

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.

17 Oct 2007

Sharp declines in hospital death rates in 2004

Sharp declines in the hospital death rates of patients from heart attack and five other leading conditions meant that an estimated 136,000 who would have died had they been hospitalized a decade earlier survived their stays in 2004, according to the latest News and Numbers from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

16 Oct 2007

$Prostate cancer increases likelihood of hip fracture four fold$

Prostate cancer increases likelihood of hip fracture four fold

Men who have prostate cancer are on average four times more likely to suffer a hip fracture, with rates rising to eight times in men aged 50 to 65, according to a study of more than 60,000 men published in the October issue of the urology journal BJU International.

12 Oct 2007

New guidelines for treating low-back pain

The American College of Physicians (ACP) and the American Pain Society (APS) today released joint guidelines on diagnosing and treating low back pain.

2 Oct 2007

$Women with low levels of vitamin D have an increased risk of hip fracture$

Women with low levels of vitamin D have an increased risk of hip fracture

Women with low levels of vitamin D have an increased risk of hip fracture, according to a study led by the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health presented this week at the 29th annual meeting of the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research at the Hawaii Convention Center.

21 Sep 2007

$Once a year osteoporosis jab reduces fractures and saves lives$

Once a year osteoporosis jab reduces fractures and saves lives

A once a year injection of an osteoporosis drug has been found to reduce the number of new hip fractures for older people and also saves lives.

18 Sep 2007

Project aims to reduce accidents and broken hips for older patients

Falls are one of the most common problems among elderly patients and are associated with fractures, reduced mobility and hospital admissions, and also lead to a loss of independence and confidence.

11 Sep 2007

$One in two women at high risk of bone fractures don't receive preventative treatment$

One in two women at high risk of bone fractures don't receive preventative treatment

One in two women at high risk of bone fractures don't receive preventative treatment, according to new research presented at the British Pharmaceutical Conference (BPC) in Manchester.

11 Sep 2007

Drop-off in procedural experience of UK junior doctors

UK trainee doctors working in emergency care claim they are gaining less experience of common practical procedures, suggests a small study in Emergency Medicine Journal.

22 Aug 2007

Once a year treatment for osteoporosis now available in the U.S.

A once-a-year treatment for the bone-thinning disease osteoporosis has been given approval by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the United States.

20 Aug 2007

Seat belt injuries in children

Ill-fitting seatbelts raise the risk of serious injury to children involved in car accidents. And seat belt injuries should alert physicians to look for signs of more serious consequences, particularly spinal cord injury, which is not always immediately apparent.

11 Aug 2007

Osteoporosis screening and treatment may be cost-effective for selected older men

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: The Journal of the American Medical Association.

8 Aug 2007

Hip resurfacing may delay hip replacement

In the world of prosthetic hips, what was old is new again. A procedure known as hip resurfacing, once tried two to three decades ago, is experiencing a resurgence in the U.S., thanks to improved technology.

3 Aug 2007

Lithium promotes better bone healing

Researchers at The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) have found a molecular pathway that plays a critical role in bone healing and have found that the drug lithium can improve the healing process.

1 Aug 2007

$Hip protectors do not reduce risk of hip fracture for nursing home residents$

Hip protectors do not reduce risk of hip fracture for nursing home residents

Use of an energy-absorbing hip protector did not provide a protective effect against hip fracture for nursing home residents, adding to increasing evidence that hip protectors, as currently designed, are not effective for preventing hip fractures, according to a study in the July 25 issue of JAMA.

25 Jul 2007

Radiation therapy combined with microsurgery shows promise for curing injured spinal cord

Research on rats with crushed spinal cords, similar to human injury, reveals that treatment soon after injury combining radiation therapy to destroy harmful cells and microsurgery to drain excess fluids significantly increases the body's ability to repair the injured cord leading to permanent recovery from injury, according to the study published in the July 18 peer-reviewed journal PLoS ONE.

25 Jul 2007

Heart patches that stimulate regeneration

When human hearts are injured, as during a heart attack, healthy tissue normally can't regrow.

18 Jul 2007

Popular antidepressants make elderly bones fragile

Two newly released studies have come out in support for the growing body of evidence that the most popular drugs used to treat depression may contribute to fragile bones in elderly people.

27 Jun 2007