Osteoporosis historical perspective
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Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1] Associate Editor(s)-in-Chief: Raviteja Guddeti, M.B.B.S. [2] Charmaine Patel, M.D. [3]
Overview
Historical Perspective
The bone disease, osteoporosis, was first seen in Egyptian mummies from over 4000 years ago, which showed the telltale sign of osteoporosis called "Dowager's Hump". John Hunter, a surgeon from the 1800's, was the first person to recognize that old bone which is resorbed by the body and destroyed, is replaced by new bone being laid down. In the 1830's, the French pathologist, Jean Georges Chretien Frederic Martin Lobstein noticed that some persons had bones with larger than normal holes in them. He coined the term "osteoporosis" to describe the porous bone. Many developments have been made in the treatment and prevention of osteoporosis over the years, however osteoporosis remains a significant challenge within the field of medicine.
- The link between age-related reductions in bone density, and fracture risk goes back to Astley Cooper, and the term "osteoporosis" and recognition of its pathological appearance in the 1830's is generally attributed to the French pathologist Lobstein.[1]
- The American endocrinologist Fuller Albright of Massachusetts General Hospital, linked osteoporosis with the postmenopausal state.[2]
- In the 1940's, Fuller Albright started treating menopausal women with estrogen to prevent further bone loss.
- In the 1960's, researchers developed more sensitive methods to detect early bone loss, such as densitometers.
- Bisphosponates which inhibit bone resorption, and revolutionized the treatment of osteoporosis, and were discovered in the 1960s by Herbert Fleisch.[3]
- In 1984, the National Institute of Health (NIH) publicized this disease, and brought attention to osteoporosis as a significant threat to health, with the emphasis that bone loss could be reduced by estrogen therapy, calcium supplementation, good nutrition, and exercise
- In the 1980's and 1990's researchers discovered the specific cytokines which influence the activity of osteoclasts, the components that cause bone breakdown.
- SERM's (Selective Estrogen Receptor Modulators) such as raloxifene entered the market around 1998. They have been found to also block breast tumors and to stimulate the growth of uterine cells.
References
- ↑ Lobstein JGCFM. Lehrbuch der pathologischen Anatomie. Stuttgart: Bd II, 1835.
- ↑ Albright F, Bloomberg E, Smith PH (1940). "Postmenopausal osteoporosis". Trans. Assoc. Am. Physicians. 55: 298–305.
- ↑ Patlak M (2001). "Bone builders: the discoveries behind preventing and treating osteoporosis". FASEB J. 15 (10): 1677E–E. PMID 11481214.