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IN THIS ISSUE-
** Osteoporosis & Lupus
** Lupus news
** Lupus fact of the week
** New on the site
** Feedback
I'm going to start the newsletter off with an article
on osteoporosis. You may be wondering why osteoporosis when this
is a lupus newsletter! Many lupus patients take steroids, and one
of the major side effects is osteoporosis. This article is based
on a talk given to the Lancashire & Cheshire Lupus Group, at our
AGM, by Dr Kilmiuk, a rheumatologist at Oldham General Hospital.
OSTEOPOROSIS & LUPUS
Osteoporosis is a decrease in bone mass, which causes
an increased susceptibility to bone fractures. It is most common
in postmenopausal women, but patients who are on steroids are at
a greater risk at any age.
However steroid treatment in lupus is often lifesaving,
and shouldn't be stopped just because there is an increased risk
of osteoporosis. There are things that can be done to reduce your
risk of getting osteoporosis, which we will look at later.
The definition of osteoporosis is a condition that
affects the skeleton, with thinning of the bone, accompanied by
an architectural change in bone structure.
The most common sites of fracture in osteoporosis
patients are the vertebrae, hip and wrist. Although any bone in
the body can be fractured as a result of osteoporosis. In the UK,
there are 250,000 fractures to due osteoporosis annually, 50,000
of which are hip fractures. Hip fractures are the ones with the
most severe consequences, and are most associated with mortality.
If you have one vertebral fracture, there is a 50% risk that you
will have another within a year. If you sustain more than one vertebral
fracture, curvature of the spine can occur. 20% of those that suffer
hip fractures will die due to complications.
Corticosteroids are live-saving drugs, and are used
widely for many conditions, including lupus. An estimated 140,000
people in the UK are taking steroids, and have double the risk of
a hip or vertebral fracture due to osteoporosis. 80% of those people
don't take any preventative treatments. You need to take over 7.5mg
of prenisone/prednisolone a day for more than six months before
it has an adverse affect on the bones.
Throughout our lives, our bones are alive and have
a blood supply, they may stop growing, but they are still living.
We replace our whole skeleton every seven years! Cells in the body
eat holes in bones, which are usually replaced by new bone.
However, in osteoporosis more bone is eaten away than
is replaced, and we are left with a lower bone density. In our early
20s we stop growing, and the skeleton goes through a resting phase.
The in our late 30s, we slowly start to lose bone. When we reach
the menopause, our oestrogen levels drop, and there is a rapid decline
of bone mass. Then, after 10 years, the rate of bone loss evens
out and is equal to the level of bone loss in men.
Risk factors for osteoporosis include: being female;
being Caucasian; a family history of osteoporosis; smoking; heavy
alcohol intake.
So how is osteoporosis diagnosed? X-rays can't measure
bone density, so a DEXA machine is used. DEXA machines don't deliver
high-dose radiation like x-rays do, and they can measure the bone
density. There is no need to scan the whole body, only a small part,
as bone density should be the same throughout the body. The most
useful areas to scan are the lumbar spine & the hip.
The key to preventing osteoporosis is to enhance the
amount of bone we have in the growing period. We can then afford
to lose the bone when we reach the menopause. It is better to start
preventative measures when we are children, but later is better
than never! You should eat a good balanced diet that includes plenty
of calcium-rich foods. Dairy produce is the best source of calcium,
and skimmed milk contains as much calcium as whole-fat milk. A good
vitamin D intake is also needed, as vitamin D helps the body to
absorb calcium. Exercise is also very important, bones need constant
weight-bearing exercise.
HRT can help, as it replaces oestrogen, which in turn
stops the bone loss. After 10 years of taking HRT there is an increased
risk of breast cancer, although this is thought to be an acceptable
risk compared to the high possibility of a fatal bone fracture.
Plant derived oestrogens do exist, but have not been proven to provide
enough oestrogen.
The use of HRT in lupus patients is controversial,
as oestrogen is thought to play a part in triggering lupus flares.
However, all HRT does is replace the natural level of oestrogen
in the body that was there prior to the menopause. So you have no
more oestrogen in your body than you did before the menopause. There
is no scientific evidence to say that HRT makes lupus worse.
A group of drugs called Bisphosphonates can be used
to treat osteoporosis & improve bone mass. One such drug is called
alendronate.
LUPUS NEWS
Brian Hanner, director of Lupus UK gave a brief talk
at our group AGM. He reported that next year's national conference
would be in Edinburgh. UK Lupus Awareness Week is in April, but
from next year it is hoped that there will be an International Lupus
Week, possibly in October. Lupus UK is spending £1/3 million on
research grants this year.
Three papers on the results of La Jolla Pharmaceutical
Company's Phase II/III trial of its lead drug candidate for lupus,
LJP 394, were presented at the 6th International Lupus Conference
held March 24-28 in Barcelona, Spain. Results of trials show that
as the dose of LJP 394 was increased, the number of renal flares
decreased in drug-treated patients relative to placebo-treated patients
(a dose-dependent response). The Company is currently conducting
a Phase III trial designed to confirm the ability of LJP 394 to
treat lupus kidney disease. Full story - http://www.uklupus.co.uk/news59.html
LUPUS FACT OF THE WEEK
In approximately 10% of cases of discoid lupus, it
evolves & develops into systemic lupus.
NEW ON THE SITE
Community Noticeboard - display details of your Lupus
fundraising/awareness event - http://www.uklupus.co.uk/notice.html
Two new bookstores - Pain Control Books -
http://www.uklupus.co.uk/painbook.html & General Health Books
- http://www.uklupus.co.uk/healthbook.html
Lupus news -
http://www.uklupus.co.uk/lupusnews.html
FEEDBACK
This is your newsletter & I want to cover subjects
that you are interested in. If you have an idea for a topic that
can be covered in future issues, or maybe you could write an article
yourself, please email me at - [email protected]
********************************************
All articles in Butterfly News are copyright Joanne
Forshaw, and must not be reprinted in any way, shape or form without
written permission. No responsibility can be taken for anything
that happens as a result of any advice/information contained herein.
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