CT Colonography Screens for Cancer, Osteoporosis

news.yahoo.com — TUESDAY, Dec. 2 (HealthDay News) -- Colorectal cancer and osteoporosis are very different diseases that a single test may be able to accurately detect, a new study says. A virtual colonoscopy is often used to detect precancerous polyps in the large intestine. A presentation, expected to be made Monday in Chicago at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America, will show how the imaging from this test can measure bone density to check for osteoporosis, a disease in which bones become fragile and more likely to break. In a CT colonography, an abdominal CT scan is done to create cross-sectional images of the abdomen and spine. Computer software then arranges the images to create an interior or "fly-through" view of the colon as would be seen in a conventional colonoscopy. A different software application can convert these into three-dimensional images of the spine to check the patient's bone mineral density. Low bone mineral density is usually associated with osteoporosis. read more...

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Osteoporosis drugs little used in nursing homes

nlm.nih.gov — NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Few nursing home patients at high risk of bone fractures are given medications to strengthen their bones, a new study suggests. Researchers found that of more than 4,400 older adults admitted to a nursing home after sustaining a fracture, only 11.5 percent were prescribed a medication for the bone-thinning disease osteoporosis. This, the investigators say, is despite the fact that guidelines recommend "strong consideration" of drug therapy, beyond vitamin D and calcium, for nursing home patients at risk of fractures. read more...

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