What is diffuse periarticular osteopenia?
Sometimes a routine X-ray reveals diffuse osteopenia (osteopenia in all bones visualized by the X-ray) or osteopenia of a particular location, such as spinal osteopenia. Periarticular osteopenia is an indication of past inflammation around a certain joint.
What causes diffuse osteopenia?
Aging is the most common risk factor for osteopenia. After your bone mass peaks, your body breaks down old bone faster than it builds new bone. That means you lose some bone density. Women lose bone more quickly after menopause, due to lower estrogen levels.
Is periarticular osteopenia rheumatoid arthritis?
Periarticular osteopenia is the earliest radiographic sign of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Recent studies using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) have indicated that the loss of periarticular BMD can be quantified by whole-hand bone mineral density (BMD) measurements.
What causes periarticular demineralization?
Generalized bone loss may result from immobility, the inflammatory process per se, and treatments such as steroids. On the other hand, periarticular demineralization occurs because of local release of inflammatory molecules and is the earliest feature of RA, preceding bone erosion.
What is osteopenia and is it serious?
Osteopenia is a loss of bone mineral density (BMD) that weakens bones. It’s more common in people older than 50, especially women. Osteopenia has no signs or symptoms, but a painless screening test can measure bone strength. Certain lifestyle changes can help you preserve bone density and prevent osteoporosis.
Is osteopenia a disease?
Think of it as a midpoint between having healthy bones and having osteoporosis. Osteopenia is when your bones are weaker than normal but not so far gone that they break easily, which is the hallmark of osteoporosis.
What happens when you have osteopenia?
When you have osteopenia, your bones are weaker than they used to be but not weak enough for you to be diagnosed with osteoporosis. That’s a condition in which bones are so thin they break easily. If your bones keep getting thinner over time, though, osteopenia can turn into osteoporosis.
What is the safest treatment for osteopenia?
There are several medications which can be effective in reducing bone loss, but these all come with the risk of side effects as well. Currently, the only drugs approved for osteopenia (osteoporosis prevention) are Actonel and Evista.
What is the difference between periarticular and regional osteopenia?
No fracture or malalignment is identified. Mild soft tissue swelling around the wrist. Periarticular osteopenia. No bony erosions identified. Periarticular osteopenia has a wide differential. Considerations include disuse osteopenia, erosive arthritis and complex regional pain syndrome.
What does diffuse osteopenia mean in a CAT scan?
Diffuse osteopenia maybe a phrase included in a radiologist’s report of an X-ray or Cat scan of your whole body or even some part of your body. The term means that there is a general thinning of all bones shown in the X-ray or Cat scan. You may have had the Xray or CAT scan for some other medical condition…
What does disuse osteopenia mean in medical terms?
Regional osteopenia describes a localized or regional decrease in bone mineral density. disuse osteopenia (usually an aggressive osteoporosis with pseudopermeative pattern) immobilization of fractures. paralyzed segments.
Is it possible to diagnose osteopenia on a plain film?
For example, the table below shows several disorders that can produce osteopenia, as well as more specific radiographic clues to their diagnosis. It can be fairly difficult to diagnose osteopenia accurately on plain radiographs. First of all, plain films are hideously insensitive to changes in bone mineral.