Abstract

Osteoporosis is a crippling disease, marked by skeletal fragility and resulting in a fracture in one out of every two individuals over the age of 50. What causes this increased bone fragility and resulting susceptibility fractures has, however, remained unclear. In the early 1700s the British surgeon John Hunter hypothesized that bone undergoes remodeling, that is, bone is forever changing itself by reorganizing into a newer, stronger configuration to resist ongoing stresses, such as physical activity [1]. Bone is lost when the cells degrading old bone, the osteoclasts, outpace the cells re-laying new collagen and mineral, the osteoblasts.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationHormonal and Genetic Basis of Sexual Differentiation Disorders and Hot Topics in Endocrinology
Subtitle of host publicationProceedings of the 2nd World Conference
EditorsMaria New, Joe Leigh Simpson
Pages119-123
Number of pages5
DOIs
StatePublished - 2011

Publication series

NameAdvances in Experimental Medicine and Biology
Volume707
ISSN (Print)0065-2598

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