Secondary osteoporosis: underlying disease and the risk for glucocorticoid-induced osteoporosis.

Background: Chronic diseases of many organ systems require long-term (>or=1 year) treatment with glucocorticoids. Owing to the catabolic activity of glucocorticoid therapy, osteoporosis is a potential complication.

Objectives: This review discusses glucocorticoid-induced bone loss and the factors, including underlying disease, that increase the risk for osteoporosis.

Gender and osteoporosis: similarities and sex-specific differences.

Osteoporosis is a major health problem for men and women. Although women are disproportionately affected, the aging of the population and the exponential fracture increase in older persons ensure that the absolute numbers of osteoporotic fractures in both sexes will increase strikingly by the end of this decade. Important sex-specific differences are already known to occur in bone physiology and geometry, fracture epidemiology, bone gonadal hormone response, and post-hip-fracture mortality.

Risedronate therapy prevents corticosteroid-induced bone loss: a twelve-month, multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group study.

Objective: Risedronate, a new pyridinyl bisphosphonate, is a potent antiresorptive bone agent. This study examines the safety and efficacy of daily, oral risedronate therapy for the prevention of corticosteroid-induced bone loss.

Methods: This multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group study was conducted in 224 men and women who were initiating long-term corticosteroid treatment.

Interobserver variability in the diagnosis of high-grade prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia and adenocarcinoma.

High-grade prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia (PIN) is a strong predictor of carcinoma when identified in small-needle biopsy specimens. However, the diagnostic variability of PIN is unknown. Eight pathologists reviewed 321 prostatic biopsy specimens to assess the variability of the diagnosis of high-grade PIN and carcinoma.