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Reasearchers led by Dr. Robert Lindsay, of Helen Hayes Hospital in West Haverstraw, New York, investigated the incidence of repeat fractures for older women who incur osteoporosis-related spine fractures. They determined that women who suffer such fractures are five times more likely to incur a second fracture within the next year, despite receiving calcium and vitamin D. Lindsay's team concluded that it is extremely important to identify women with low bone density before fractures occur so that treatments can be started to reduce bone loss. The study was reported in the January 17 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).

A low dose of estrogen was as effective in reducing bone turnover as higher doses when given to a group of healthy women 65 years and older, according to a study published in the December issue of the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism. This is the first controlled clinical trial to directly compare the effects of different doses of estrogen on bone turnover in older women.

Bone turnover refers to the bone remodeling cycle in which new bone is formed as older bone is dissolved. Osteoporosis develops when more bone is dissolved than is formed, weakening the bones and making them prone to fracture. The risk for developing osteoporosis increases with age.

Decreases in bone turnover among the women who took 0.25 mg of estradiol, a form of estrogen, was quite similar to the decrease among the women who took 1.0 mg of estradiol, according to lead author Karen Prestwood, M.D., of the University of Connecticut (UCONN). The 1.0 mg estrogen dose that women conventionally are prescribed as part of estrogen replacement therapy (ERT) to treat symptoms of menopause, reduce bone turnover, and treat osteoporosis, sometimes results in side effects such as breast tenderness, fluid retention, headaches, and bloating. The group taking 0.25 mg estradiol had no more side effects than the placebo group, according to the study, conducted at UCONN?s Claude D. Pepper Older Americans Independence Center.

Actress Julie Andrews, former Texas Governor Ann Richards, and Dr. Felicia Cosman, osteoporosis specialist and Medical Director of the Clinical Research Center at Helen Hayes Hospital, have come together as three "Women With Backbone" (SM) to bring information abot osteoporosis to women across the nation. Julie will be the spokesperson for a national campaign called the Declaration of Independence From Osteoporosis. The Declaration of Independence From Osteoporosis is a public education partnership between the National Women?s Health Resource Center (NWHRC) and Eli Lilly and Company, and includes a series of national and local initiatives designed to raise awareness of osteoporosis prevention and treatment. Andrews, star of such film classics as Mary Poppins, The Sound of Music and Victor/Victoria, is featured in a public service announcement urging women to declare their independence from osteoporosis.

Some facts about osteoporosis: - Up to half of women over the age of 50 will break a bone due to osteoporosis in their lifetime. - There are more osteoporotic fractures in women than stroke, heart attacks and breast cancer combined. - Two fractures from osteoporosis occur among women every minute in the U.S. - Taking calcium may not be enough to prevent osteoporosis.

Factors that increase a woman's risk of developing osteoporosis include: - being Caucasian (white) or Asian - having a slender body build - having a family history of osteoporosis - being past menopause (including menopause due to surgery) - smoking - drinking alcohol - not getting enough calcium - not getting enough exercise

A 3-day National Institutes on Health (NIH) Consensus Development Conference on Osteoporosis Prevention, Diagnosis, and Therapy brought together national and international experts to present the latest research findings on osteoporosis, a skeletal disorder characterized by compromised bone strength predisposing to an increased risk of fracture.

The panel indicated that bone mass attained during childhood is the most important determinant of life-long skeletal health, and that achieving optimum bone mass early in life reduces the impact of bone loss related to aging. However, only 10% of girls and 25% of boys between ages 9 and 17 obtain an adequate amount of calcium in their diet. There is also strong evidence that physical activity early in life contributes to higher peak bone mass. Clinical trials have shown that exercise reduces the risk of falls by approximately 25%, and falls are a major cause of fractures in people with osteoporosis.

Although hormone replacement therapy remains a common treatment and prevention option, the panel suggested that more information is needed on how estrogen alone or in combination with other treatments reduces the incidence of fractures. Natural estrogens, such as plant-derived phytoestrogens, have thus far not been shown to reduce fractures. Within the last decade, new medicines to help prevent and/or treat osteoporosis have become available. Among the new classes of drugs are bisphosphonates and selective estrogen receptor modulators.

Research by Dr. Kay-Tee Khaw and colleagues at the University of Cambridge School of Medicine in the UK was published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Their study reported a correlation between tea drinking and bone mineral density in older women. They postulated that tea may reduce the risk of osteoporosis in older women.