Osteoporosis means “porous bone," or bone that has become more open due to a loss of bone cells. As such, it's often described as a disorder characterized by “holey" bones. This might be confusing because if you viewed a healthy bone under a microscope, it would appear to have gaps similar to what you would see in a honeycomb but a bone affected by osteoporosis will contain much bigger spaces than healthy bones. Though post-menopausal women are most commonly associated with osteoporosis, men also experience it.

If you have osteoporosis, your bones are weak and prone to fracture. Fractured bones caused by osteoporosis are most commonly located in the hip, spine, and wrist. These fractures result in a variety of complications:

• Severe, chronic pain
• Loss of height
• Stooped posture
• Restricted mobility
• Depression

It is a common disorder, but osteoporosis can be prevented. There are usually no tell tale osteoporosis symptoms, and sometimes the first symptom can be a fracture, so get tested to check your bone health. Even if you’re not at high risk, there are lifestyle choices you can adopt to keep your bones strong and healthy through the years.

Parathyroid Glands

• Parathyroid hormone regulates the body’s calcium levels.
• There are four parathyroid glands, and they are each about the size of a grain of rice located in the neck.
• Though they’re located near each other, the parathyroid glands are not related to the thyroid gland.

When the parathyroid releases too much or too little PTH, it adversely affects your body in a variety of ways. Below are common diseases and disorders associated with the parathyroid glands:

Hyperparathyroidism: The most common disease of parathyroid glands is hyperparathyroidism, which is characterized by excess PTH hormone, regardless of calcium levels. In other words, the parathyroid glands continue to make large amounts of PTH even when the calcium level is normal, and they should not be making the hormone at all.

Hypoparathyroidism: Hypoparathyroidism is the combination of symptoms due to inadequate parathyroid hormone production. This leads to decreased blood levels of calcium (hypocalcemia) and increased levels of blood phosphorus (hyperphosphatemia).This is a rare condition and most commonly occurs because of damage or removal of parathyroid glands during parathyroid or thyroid surgery.

Osteoporosis: When one of the parathyroid glands is overactive, it releases too much PTH hormone. This causes your bones to release calcium constantly into the blood stream. Without enough calcium in your bones, they lose their density and hardness. Osteoporosis is characterized by this loss of calcium and bone density.