Silent Enemy
Maribel Ruvalcaba
Biology 384N
T/Th 1:30-3:10
December 7, 2010
Silent Enemy Many people have serious health problems they may not be aware of. One of these health problems is Osteoporosis. Most people do not even know that Osteoporosis exists; they have no knowledge of what this disease is about or how to prevent it. In the article “c-Maf and you won’t see fat” Laurie McCauley defines Osteoporosis as “a metabolic bone disease that results from an imbalance between the process of bone formation and bone resorption, leading to reduce bone mass and increased susceptibility to fracture.” And according to Matthew Taylor, in his article “Osteoporosis: An Opportunity to Serve” Osteoporosis was “only officially recognized as a disease by the World Health Organization in 1994.” This illustrates to us that before 1994 the public was uninformed about Osteoporosis, and even today many people are still unaware of this disease. In todays fast pace society most people take everything related to their bodies for granted and are not interested in knowing how their bones develop or what factors contribute to deteriorate them. It is very important to know that bones are made of collagen, it gives the bone flexibility; calcium phosphate that makes bone hard and strong; and bone cells that remove and replace weakened sections of bone. Anjela Shepher in her article “An Overview of Osteoporosis” explains that the bone cells called Osteoclasts “are attracted to an area of microdamage; once they have resorbed the bone, Osteoblasts are recruited to synthesize replacement bone. Osteoporosis results from an imbalance in the process due to the failure of the Osteblasts to repair the bone removed by the Osteoclasts.” A lot of things happen inside our body without us being aware of it; people cannot feel their bones becoming weaker, they could have Osteoporosis or be at risk without realizing it. Osteoporosis is a silent enemy since the first symptom is a broken bone; lifestyle and
Biology 384N
T/Th 1:30-3:10
December 7, 2010
Silent Enemy Many people have serious health problems they may not be aware of. One of these health problems is Osteoporosis. Most people do not even know that Osteoporosis exists; they have no knowledge of what this disease is about or how to prevent it. In the article “c-Maf and you won’t see fat” Laurie McCauley defines Osteoporosis as “a metabolic bone disease that results from an imbalance between the process of bone formation and bone resorption, leading to reduce bone mass and increased susceptibility to fracture.” And according to Matthew Taylor, in his article “Osteoporosis: An Opportunity to Serve” Osteoporosis was “only officially recognized as a disease by the World Health Organization in 1994.” This illustrates to us that before 1994 the public was uninformed about Osteoporosis, and even today many people are still unaware of this disease. In todays fast pace society most people take everything related to their bodies for granted and are not interested in knowing how their bones develop or what factors contribute to deteriorate them. It is very important to know that bones are made of collagen, it gives the bone flexibility; calcium phosphate that makes bone hard and strong; and bone cells that remove and replace weakened sections of bone. Anjela Shepher in her article “An Overview of Osteoporosis” explains that the bone cells called Osteoclasts “are attracted to an area of microdamage; once they have resorbed the bone, Osteoblasts are recruited to synthesize replacement bone. Osteoporosis results from an imbalance in the process due to the failure of the Osteblasts to repair the bone removed by the Osteoclasts.” A lot of things happen inside our body without us being aware of it; people cannot feel their bones becoming weaker, they could have Osteoporosis or be at risk without realizing it. Osteoporosis is a silent enemy since the first symptom is a broken bone; lifestyle and
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