04/20/19 GIVING A BOOST TO AGING BONES

GIVING A BOOST TO AGING BONES

Mimes stoop when they portray an elderly person. But age doesn't cause stooping; fractured vertebrae brought about by osteoporosis does. This degenerative bone disease is preventable and treatable if caught early. The good news: A recent advance in screening technology and updated dietary guidelines can help keep more older people standing tall.
In March, the Food & Drug Administration approved the first ultrasound device that measures bone density--a key to diagnosing osteoporosis. Called Sahara and manufactured by Hologic in Waltham, Mass., it's considerably smaller (about the size of a laser printer) and half the price ($30,000) of other measurement devices. And it doesn't use X-rays.
The exam requires you to slip a bare foot into the device, allowing sound waves to pass painlessly through your heel. The machine prints out results within a minute, at a cost of around $40, vs. more than $100 for other types of bone scans, which take 10 minutes or more. And ''Sahara is just as accurate'' at determining who is at risk, says Dr. Daniel Schultz, chief medical officer in the FDA's Device Evaluation Div. Health insurers are expected to pick up the tab for the test.
In the past, only large medical centers had the resources for scanning gear. But a Sahara scanner can be installed in any physician's office. (Call 800 330-0927 for existing locations.) Dr. Felicia Cosman, an osteoporosis specialist at Helen Hayes Hospital in West Haverstraw, N.Y., thinks osteoporosis screening ''will become part of any standard health evaluation,'' along with height, weight, and blood pressure.
This is important because most people start to lose bone mass after age 30. But some deplete bone stores faster than others. Women can lose up to 20% in the several years following menopause, when estrogen levels fall. With a 25% loss, bones become brittle. In the worst cases, sneezing is enough to break a rib.
Fortunately, ''if people find they are rapidly losing bone mass, they can take steps to arrest the process before they start having fractures,'' says Gail Dalsky, a researcher at the Osteoporosis Center of University of Connecticut Health Center in Farmington. Treatment includes hormone-replacement therapy, drugs that slow bone loss, and weight-bearing exercise, such as walking, aerobics, and weight-lifting.
It's also vital to get enough calcium, a mineral crucial for sustaining a healthy skeleton. Last year, the National Academy of Sciences' Institute of Medicine upped its recommended dose after an expert panel concluded that men and women need 1,000 to 1,500 milligrams of calcium per day--a 50% hike over the last recommendation in 1989.
Doctors advise getting calcium from foods because they supply other nutrients that aid in absorption. But chances are you don't consume enough dairy products, kale, and other calcium-rich foods. So experts suggest taking calcium citrate, which has a higher absorption rate than calcium phosphate and calcium carbonate. To maximize efficiency, take 250 to 500 mg at a time. You might have to pop a few pills a day, but it's a small price to pay to keep your head held high.
EDITED BY AMY DUNKIN
By Kate Murphy