Role of serum P1NP measurement for monitoring treatment response in osteoporosis.

Osteoporosis is a generalized, essentially age related, skeletal disorder characterized by fragile bone. It is a major public health problem because of the high cumulative risk of bone fractures in affected populations. Although there is currently no cure for osteoporosis, there are effective treatments that can prevent additional bone loss by inhibiting the degradation of mature bone (antiresorptive therapy) or, ideally, reverse bone loss and thus increase bone density by stimulating the formation of new bone (anabolic therapy).