Erschienen in:
01.08.2004
Role of Hormonal Changes in the Pathogenesis of Osteoporosis in Men
verfasst von:
S. Khosla
Erschienen in:
Calcified Tissue International
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Ausgabe 2/2004
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Excerpt
An understanding of the pathogenesis of osteoporosis in men depends on a clear definition of the specific entity under consideration. Conceptually, it is useful to divide male osteoporosis into three main categories: (1) involutional (age-related) osteoporosis, (2) idiopathic osteoporosis in young and middle-aged men, and (3) secondary osteoporosis (medical diseases, drugs, and environmental factors). At the outset, it is important to recognize that the three categories are not mutually exclusive: as an extreme example, a 50-year-man with vertebral fractures (idiopathic osteoporosis) may develop superimposed age-related bone loss (involutional osteoporosis) that could be worsened by corticosteroid use for his asthma (secondary osteoporosis). Thus, the main utility of this classification is to help focus our thinking on pathogenesis, since the causal mechanism(s) are likely to differ. The following discussion focusses on the first two categories, as the third is usually related to a clearly identifiable factor known to cause bone loss. …