A Quick Fix for Osteoporosis Damage

Vertebroplasty might sound creepy or painful, but the fact is it could help you or someone you love. The technique -- developed at the University of Maryland -- involves injecting sterile cement into fractured vertebrae. It can be a huge relief for osteoporosis patients.

The procedure is designed to prevent the spine from crumbling and to stop the pain from weakened vertebrae. As cement fills and hardens permanently in tiny holes created by osteoporosis, the vertebrae are strengthened and the pressure on the spine is eased. Patients usually leave the hospital the same day as the procedure, and it can be done with only mild sedation.

Doctors say osteoporosis, which afflicts 10 million Americans, is on the rise. They blame a lack of calcium in modern diets and increasingly sedentary lifestyles. The Maryland researchers who developed vertebroplasty tested it on 30 patients, 29 of whom reported significant pain relief.

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<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN"><html><head><title>ThirdAge - Daily News Newsletter - APRIL 2, 2000- Cement May Treat Osteoporosis</title><meta content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1" http-equiv="Content-Type"><meta name="keywords" content="women's health, osteoporosis, treatment calcium less active women simple procedure"><meta name="description" content="A "liquid cement" could help prevent the crumbling of the spine and pain of osteoporosis, new research suggests."><meta name="language" content="en"><meta http-equiv="content-language" content="en"> <meta name="robots" content="index,follow"><script type="text/javascript" src="/includes/javascript/base2.js"></script><link rel=stylesheet href="/includes/css/seo02.css" TYPE="text/css"></head><div align="center"><table border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" width="760" class="bgtablemainborder"><tr><td><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="758" class="bgtablemain"><tr><td colspan="6" align="center"><div style="padding-top: 5px;"></div></td></tr><tr><td colspan="6" height="10"><spacer type=block width=1 height=10></td></tr><tr valign="top"><td></td><td rowspan="2"></td><td rowspan="2" class="body"><div style="padding-top:1px;"></div><p><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" align="right"><tr><td width="5"><spacer type=block width=5 height=1></td><td></td></tr><tr><td height="10"><spacer type=block width=1 height=10></td></tr></table><font color="#333333" class="hed">Cement May Treat Osteoporosis</font><br><font color="#333333"><br> A "liquid cement" could treat osteoporosis -- the painful, often crippling condition common among elderly women, researchers say. The technique, called "vertebroplasty" and developed by researchers at the University of Maryland, involves injecting sterile cement into the fractured vertebrae of the spine.<BR><BR> This is designed to prevent the spine from crumbling and to stop the pain, the scientists said at the annual meeting of the <a target=window href="http://www.pcipr.com/scvir/vertebroplasty.html">Society of Cardiovascular & Interventional Radiology</a>.<BR><BR> The scientists say the cement fills and hardens permanently in tiny holes created by osteoporosis, strengthening the collapsed vertebrae and easing pressure on the spine. The procedure, they say, takes less than an hour and can be done with only mild sedation.<BR><BR> Doctors say osteoporosis, which afflicts 10 million Americans, is on the rise. They blame a lack of calcium in modern diets and increasingly sedentary lifestyles. The Maryland researchers say they developed the treatment in work with 30 patients, 29 of who reported significant pain relief after undergoing vertebroplasty.</font><br clear="all"><div style="margin-top: 15px;" align="center"></div><p><p><p><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="424" class="bgpullquotes"><tr><td height="2" colspan="4" class="bgpullquoteline"><spacer type=block width=1 height=2></td></tr><tr><td height="3" colspan="4"><spacer type=block width=1 height=3></td></tr><tr><td><spacer type=block width=1 height=1></td><td colspan="3" class="pullquotehed"></td></tr><tr><td height="5" colspan="4"><spacer type=block width=1 height=5></td></tr><tr><td width="7" height="10"><spacer type=block width=7 height=10></td><td width="14" height="1"><spacer type=block width=14 height=1></td><td width="383"><spacer type=block width=383 height=1></td><td width="20"><spacer type=block width=20 height=1></td></tr></table></td><td rowspan="2"></td><td rowspan="2"><div class="uli"></div><p><br></td><td rowspan="2"> </td></tr><tr valign="top"><td class="bgleftcol"><div style="padding-top: 10px;"></div><p><p align="center"></p><p align="center"></p></td></tr><tr><td colspan="6" align="center"><div style="padding-top: 10px;"></div></td></tr><tr><td width="134" height="10"><spacer type="block" width="134" height="10"></td><td width="15"><spacer type="block" width="15" height="1"></td><td width="424"><spacer type="block" width="424" height="1"></td><td width="15"><spacer type="block" width="15" height="1"></td><td width="160"><spacer type="block" width="160" height="1"></td><td width="10"><spacer type="block" width="10" height="1"></td></tr></table></td></tr></table><p><br><br></div></body></html>

A Quick Fix for Osteoporosis Damage - Health