Macular Degeneration
Although many people are not aware of it, macular degeneration, often called AMD or ARMD (for age-related macular degeneration) is the leading cause of blindness in the world. The eye-health organization Prevent Blindness America estimates that 13 million Americans have evidence of AMD.
Macular degeneration is more common in people over age 65, and whites and females tend to get the disease more than their counterparts. Most cases of macular degeneration are related to aging. It also can occur as a side effect of some drugs, and it appears to run in families.
For more information visit:
www.eyesight.org
www.blindness.org
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Osteoporosis
Osteoporosis is a disease of the skeleton in which the amount of calcium present in the bones slowly decreases to the point where the bones become brittle and prone to fracture. In other words, the bone loses density. Osteoporosis is diagnosed when bone density has decreased to the point where fractures will happen with mild stress, its so-called fracture threshold.
The determining factor the actual existence of osteoporosis is the amount of calcium left in the skeleton. Someone who has exceptionally dense bones to begin with will probably never lose enough calcium to reach the point where osteoporosis occurs, whereas a person who has low bone density could easily develop osteoporosis despite losing only relative small amount of calcium.
Osteoporosis is a major cause of disability and death in the elderly. Between 25% and 60% of women over 60 years old develop spinal compression fractures. By age 90, one third of all women and 17% of men have sustained a hip fracture. Each year there are an estimated 500,000 spinal fractures, 300,000 hip fractures, 200,000 broken wrists, and 300,000 fractures of other bones. About 80% of these fractures occur from relatively minor falls or accidents. Between 50% and 65% regain their previous walking capacity after a fracture; between 20% and 15% become house bound, and as many as 20% require institutionalization.
For more information visit:
www.osteo.org
www.mercksharpdohme.com/disease/osteoporosis
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