Clinical Geriatrics

To the Editor:
I read with interest the article, “Osteoporosis in Elderly Men,”1 written by Neil Baum, MD. The initial background information is pertinent and raises awareness of the growing problem of osteoporosis in men, and a number of preventive and management strategies are suggested. The case presented in the article is a 66-year-old man with a history of prostate cancer that was initially treated with radiation therapy. After a recurrence of cancer, he was treated with luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone agonist and anti-androgen therapy, which is an important risk factor

Significant alterations in the hormonal milieu occur in the aging population.1,2 In women, these changes are predictable and well recognized, and include a constellation of somatic and psychological symptoms due to a decline in circulating estrogenic hormones, called menopause. In contradistinction to menopause, the changes in the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal (HPG) axis in men are highly variable and are not seen in all men. These manifestations often may go unrecognized. These changes in the hormonal milieu in men are known by a collective term, male climacteric, or andropause. Andropause i

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), by the year 2020 about 60 million Americans will be affected by arthritis. It is a leading cause of disability in developed countries. It limits the physical capability and independence of affected individuals and causes high stress levels for caregivers.

Although the diagnosis of arthritis includes a wide spectrum of more than 100 disorders, osteoarthritis (OA) by definition is a failure of joint cartilage due to “wear and tear.” By age 75, nearly 85% of the U.S. population has clinical or radiographic features of OA.1 Once considered an inevitable part of aging, evidence now indicates that OA is a preventable late-life disease.

PATHOGENESIS