What Is Osteoporosis?
Osteoporosis is a condition in which bones become thin and fragile. It is called a "silent disease" because bone loss occurs without symptoms. People may not know they have osteoporosis until their bones become so weak that a simple strain, twist of the body, bump or fall causes a bone fracture. Fractures may occur in the hip, wrist, ribs or elsewhere, but one of the more common sites is in the vertebrae, the bones that make up the spinal column. The pain and loss of movement that often accompany bone fractures of the spine are perhaps the most feared and debilitating side effects of osteoporosis. For many people with osteoporosis, a spinal fracture means severely limited activity, constant pain and a serious reduction in the quality of their lives.
Who Is at Risk?
Researchers estimate that at least 25 percent of women and a somewhat smaller percentage of men over the age of 50 will suffer one or more spinal fractures. Younger people also suffer these fractures, particularly those whose bones have become fragile due to the long-term use of steroids or other drugs to treat a variety of diseases such as lupus, asthma and rheumatoid arthritis. Significant risk has been reported in all ethnic groups, and while osteoporosis is most common in old age, it can occur at any time. Factors that increase the likelihood of developing osteoporosis include:
Some types of cancers and tumors affect spinal structure causing fractures. Vertebroplasty or kyphoplasty may be used in some cases to mitigate pain and stabilize spinal fractures.
Treatment Options
For patients who have unresolved chronic back pain, there is a safe, minimally invasive treatment called vertebroplasty. In the procedure, a needle is inserted through the skin and into the crushed vertebrae. A special bone cement is injected into the bone to stabilize it. Vertebroplasty takes one to two hours to perform depending on the number of vertebrae being treated. Another similar treatment option is called kyphoplasy. That procedure uses a balloon catheter to first restore height to the crushed vertebrae, then fill the space with the special bone cement.
Interventional Cancer Care
Procedures performed by interventional radiologists are being increasingly used in the care of patients with cancer. These specially trained physicians use X-rays, ultrasound or other imaging techniques to guide small tubes called catheters and miniature tools directly to the site of the disease. Interventional radiology procedures for patients with cancer include new approaches for treatment, relieving symptoms and diagnosing cancer without surgical biopsy.
The following information was prepared by the Society of Cardiovascular and Interventional Radiology (SIR) to provide information about techniques used by interventional radiologists in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer and its symptoms.
Treating cancer. The decision made by a patient and their physician about how best to treat a cancer depends on a number of factors, including the type of cancer, how advanced the disease is (sometimes referred to as the cancer "stage") other health problems that the patient may have and the preference of the patient.
The most common treatments are:
In some cases, new interventional radiology procedures can be used to deliver cancer-fighting therapy directly to the site of the tumor. Using moving X-ray pictures to guide them, interventional radiologists insert miniature devices into blood vessels or other body parts through a small nick in the skin and guide them to the site of the cancer. Cancer-killing therapies such as chemotherapy, radiation, heat and cold, are then delivered directly to the tumor. The names of these interventional techniques are chemoembolization, radiofrequency ablation therapy and cryoblation (SP?). In the case of liver cancer, another interventional procedure is TIPS (Transjugular Intrahepatic Portosystemic Shunt). It can be used to relieve blockage as liver function fails.
How can interventional radiology improve the diagnosis and treatment of cancer?
Many interventional radiology procedures for the diagnosis and treatment of cancer can be performed on an outpatient basis or during a short hospital stay. In many cases, the procedures: