Density
What is bone density?
Your bones are made of living tissue. To keep them strong, your body breaks down old bone and replaces it with new bone. But when more bone is broken down than replaced, you lose bone density, also called bone mass. Bone density is a measure of the amount of calcium and other minerals in bone. Bones containing more minerals are denser. They tend to be stronger and less likely to fracture (break).
Losing bone density can weaken your bones. In some cases, it can lead to osteoporosis. This is a disease which can make your bones more likely to break. Low bone density that is not low enough to be osteoporosis is sometimes called osteopenia.
What can make you lose bone density?Your bones become less dense as you age. Other factors can also make you more likely to lose bone mass, such as:
- A family history of osteoporosis or low bone mass
- Not developing good bone mass when you are young
- Having certain medical conditions, such as:
- Endocrine diseases
- Certain digestive diseases
- Rheumatoid arthritis
- Certain types of cancer
- HIV
- Anorexia nervosa, a type of eating disorder
- Taking certain medicines, such as:
- Corticosteroids
- Proton pump inhibitors (which treat GERD)
- Medicines to treat epilepsy
- Smoking tobacco
- Long-term heavy alcohol use
- Physical inactivity or prolonged periods of bedrest
Not everyone who has low bone mass gets osteoporosis, but they are at higher risk for developing it.
Is there a test to measure your bone health?A bone density scan is the best way to measure your bone health. It compares your bone density, or mass, to that of a healthy person who is the same age and sex as you are. It can show:
- Whether you have low bone density
- Whether you have osteoporosis, a disease that makes your bones weak
- Your risk for breaking bones
- Whether your osteoporosis treatment is working
To help keep your bones strong and help prevent osteoporosis, the best thing to do is to eat a healthy diet rich in calcium and vitamin D. Getting regular physical activity, limiting alcohol, and not smoking can also help. In some cases, your health care provider may prescribe medicines to prevent osteoporosis.
NIH: National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases
Density FDA Approved Drugs
- Amyvid is a radioactive diagnostic agent for positron emission tomography (pet) imaging of the brain to estimate beta-amyloid neuritic plaque density in adult patients with cognitive impairment.
- Adjunctive therapy to lipid-lowering medications and diet to reduce low density lipoprotein-cholesterol, apolipoprotein b, total cholesterol, and non-high density lipoprotein cholesterol in pts with homozygous familial hypercholesterolemia.
- Adjuncitve therapy to diet to reduce elevated total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, apolipoprtein b, triglycerides and to increase hdl-c in adult patients with primary hyperlipidemia or mixed dyslipidemia.
- Neuraceq is a radioactive diagnostic agent for positron emission tomography (pet) imaging of the brain to estimate p-amyloid neuritic plaque density in adult patients with cognitive impairment.
- A method of generating an injectable foam of controlled density and bubble size.
- A method of intravenous injection using ultrasound guidance, administered via a single cannula into the lumen of the target incompetent trunk veins or by direct injection into varicosities.
- A method of using a sclerosing agent for the treatment of incompetent great saphenous veins, accessory saphenous veins and visible varicosities of the great saphenous (gsv) system above and below the knee.