Osteoporosis
Bones become frail; Unbalance of Vitamin D/Calcium
Your body with Osteoporosis
When a person has osteoporosis, the bones throughout their body become frail and are easily broken. The most common bones that are affected are the vertebrae in the upper spine, which could cause your posture to be severely damaged, the hip and the wrist. Even so, all bones could still be broken, there is just a lesser chance of that to happen. Out of the 10,000,000 or so Americans that are experiencing osteoporosis, only about 20% are male. This is because after women go through metaphase, their body slows down the production of estrogen. Estrogen supports osteoblasts, which produces bone. So therefore, the slowed down production of estrogen in turn slows down the ability to produce new bones as well. The symptoms of this disease are limited. Usually, you don't know that you have osteoporosis until you break a bone. One symptom would be that your bones break much easily. Another symptom is if you are having pain in your back or upper spine. Lastly, if your height has decreased a good amount, you may have osteoporosis. There aren't really organs being affected by this disease just the skelatal system is. You could also say that all organs are affected because the bones in our body are made to protect muscles and the internal organs. The body will attempt to balance itself by trying to produce Vitamin D or Calcium but will usually fail. This is why most doctors put their patients on a diet consisting of these things. By looking at a regular bone through a microscope, you can see holes that are normal sized and are always there. However, with a bone that is affected by osteoporosis, the holes are much larger.
Left: Osteoporosis // Right: Regular
The bone matrix in the left bone is very fragile and therefore breaks easier. The bone matrix in the right bone is regular and therefore does not break as easily.
Osteoporosis in the hip
The bone on the left hand side of the picture depicts a regular bone matrix where the holes are normal sized. The right hand side of the picture shows a bone matrix where the holes of the bone are abnormally large.
http://advancedhealth.ca/conditions/female-issues/osteoporosis/what-is-osteoporosis2-.htmlOsteoporosis over time
Having osteoporosis affects people's posture, bones, and everyday life. Depicted in the picture, the woman's upper vertebrae in her spine is experiencing osteoporosis. You can see this because they are starting to deteriorate and break which is making her spine become hunched.
http://www.osteodigest.com/"If you have osteoporosis, your bones are weak and prone to fracture." http://www.endocrineweb.com/conditions/osteoporosis/osteoporosis-overview
Can it be treated or cured?
Unfortunately, it cannot be cured, but some treatments can help a person who has osteoporosis. Because of the severe lack of Vitamin D and calcium in the body, most doctors put patients on a diet of extra Vitamin D and calcium. Another treatment option that is used frequently is that of an every day exercise plan. This is to help create a healthy and stable lifestyle for your bones. Lastly. For extreme cases people are put on medication to help with the unbalance in vitamins.