[Fracture prevention: breaking with the guideline?].

We have evaluated the merits and scientific underpinning of two different forms of fracture prevention. The first is the fracture liaison service(FLS), in which persons aged 50 years or older who have suffered a fracture are assessed and treated. The second is a stepped screening program for women aged 65 years or older, utilizing questionnaires and bone densitometry to identify those with the highest fracture risk for treatment.

The yield of routine laboratory examination in osteoporosis evaluation in primary care.

Unlabelled: This study evaluated the yield of routine laboratory examination in a large population of older women in primary care. The prevalence of laboratory abnormalities was low and the clinical consequences in follow-up were limited. There was a weak association of laboratory abnormalities with osteoporosis but no association with vertebral fractures and recent fractures.

The Effect of a Screening and Treatment Program for the Prevention of Fractures in Older Women: A Randomized Pragmatic Trial.

Population screening for fracture risk may reduce the fracture incidence. In this randomized pragmatic trial, the SALT Osteoporosis Study (SOS), we studied whether screening for fracture risk and subsequent treatment in primary care can reduce fractures compared with usual care. A total of 11,032 women aged 65 to 90 years with ≥1 clinical risk factor for fractures were individually randomized to screening (n = 5575) or usual care (n = 5457).

A Meta-Analysis of Trabecular Bone Score in Fracture Risk Prediction and Its Relationship to FRAX.

Trabecular bone score (TBS) is a gray-level textural index of bone microarchitecture derived from lumbar spine dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) images. TBS is a bone mineral density (BMD)-independent predictor of fracture risk. The objective of this meta-analysis was to determine whether TBS predicted fracture risk independently of FRAX probability and to examine their combined performance by adjusting the FRAX probability for TBS.

Prediction of vitamin D deficiency by simple patient characteristics.

Background: Vitamin D status is currently diagnosed by measuring serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D].

Objective: This study aimed to develop a risk profile that can be used to easily identify older individuals at high risk of vitamin D deficiency.

Design: This study was performed within the Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam, an ongoing cohort study in a representative sample of the Dutch older population (n = 1509 for the development sample and n = 1100 for the validation sample).

Physiological concentrations of insulin induce endothelin-mediated vasoconstriction during inhibition of NOS or PI3-kinase in skeletal muscle arterioles.

Objective: To determine the roles of nitric oxide, endothelin-1 and phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3-kinase) in acute responses of isolated rat skeletal muscle arterioles to insulin.

Methods: Rat cremaster first order arterioles were separated from surrounding tissue, cannulated in a pressure myograph and responses to insulin (4 microU/ml-3.4 mU/ml) were studied without intraluminal blood or flow.