Bone Loss with Age and Effects on Facial Features - Essay Example

What is bone loss? Perhaps many persons in the society are not away that human beings loss certain masses of their bones as they age. Bone loss process has been established to occur when more bone mass is reabsorbed into body system that it is actually formed. Several high caliber biologists have verified this claim in their case studies. Several factors determine how much bone is reabsorbed into body and how much is formed. However there is one distinguishing factor which is the age. We as human beings cannot control our ageing. Other factors that cause bone loss such as diet can easily and timely be controlled to reduce this menace. Most bone of the human skeleton are formed during the childhood years and the late teenage years, over the others years of our lives, the bones only larger, denser and heavier in regard to each individual’s body mass or simply the weight. The process of bone formation continues until the peak bone mass is arrived at mostly at the age of thirty years. The age at which peak bone mass is arrived at ranges in between 30 to 35 years of age. After this period of time, bone re-absorption begins slowly and continues till it overtakes the bone formation and it is at this particular times that we lose substantial amount of bone mass that can be recognized by the look of our particular bodies. Bone loss occurs more in women rather than men, in women, substantial amounts of bone loss are achieved a few years after the menopause. But when both genders arrive at the age of 65 years, the rates of bone loss are equal. There are other factors that contribute to bone loss. They are diets which have low contents of calcium element, small body frame, families and certain diseases which are supportive to bone loss. What is bone made of? Bone is a strong element of the skeleton that is used to build up the skeleton onto which the flesh, muscles and all other components of the body are housed in. Therefore to support the various organs of the body in the right position and essentially offer protection to the delicate ones such as the heart, then the bone must be strong enough to accomplish this task. Therefore bone is made up of a protein called the collagen which is women into a flexible framework. Calcium carbonate and calcium phosphate among other minerals are added to the framework to introduce strength and the flexibility abilities. The desired ability of flexibility helps the bones from breaking under application of small amounts of force. We should understand that it is the calcium that actually introduces these amounts of strengths in the bones. Well known researchers have established that bones of human beings constitute around 99% of the body calcium together with teeth whilst blood only contains 1% of the body`s calcium content. To note is that bone is a living and a growing tissue that is usually active throughout a person life. The most notable processes in regard to bones are the bone formation and bone assimilation or resorption into the bone. Both processes have age brackets where they are predominant. When more bone resorption occurs than bone formation, then bone loss occurs in our bodies. Bone mineral density is the reliable method which can be used to detect bone loss in our bodies. Under this particular method of detection of bone loss, three tests are used to produce quantitative results. These three particular tests are; the dual energy X-ray absorptiometry, the quantitative ultrasound and finally the quantitative computed tomography. These tests are normally performed in persons who are deemed to have high risk factors. These risks factors which have categorized to be high risk are; heavy alcoholic users, smokers, persons with previous broken bones, persons of white or Asian races, diets of low calcium contents, lack of body exercise, height loss, persons with chronic disorders such as liver diseases, low body mass index ration and finally persons whose their families have had history of massive bone losses. The above factors have been classified as high risk factors and they are the elements that lead to bone losses in our bodies even though age is a major contributing factor. Therefore they tend to facilitate the process of bone loss alongside the age factor. The below pictures try to bring out the real picture of how bone loss occurs and how easy it is visible by our own eyes. Figure: The distinct faces showing bone losses There are several strategies that can be used to prevent bone loss in our bodies. However some factors such as age cannot be controlled. The first strategy is always eating diet rich in calcium. Calcium is the chemical element that constitutes majority of the bones. Diets that are rich in calcium element are like dairy products with low fat contents such as fresh milk, yoghurt and other milk products, leafy vegetables that are essentially dark green such as spinach, broccoli and kales. These leafy vegetables have high contents of calcium content and should be included in the meals most of the times The next strategy towards attaining strong and healthy bones is to eat a diet with high amount of vitamin D. vitamin D has been established to help the body of living organisms absorb calcium. It is therefore a very important aspect and should be addressed with uttermost care since without adequate amounts of this vitamin in our body’s then absorption of calcium in our bodies would not occur. Vitamin D is obtained from two sources with one source being a free source. Vitamin D is made by the skin through exposure to direct sunlight and the other source is the fortified dairy products and the eggs. Frequent exercising of a person`s s another way to achieve a healthy body. Physical exercising in the childhood and the adolescent stages helps increase the bones density and strengths. It is at these two stages that our bones are actively developing hence those who regularly undertake exercise during this period usually have string bones unlike those who fail to undertake exercises. The final strategy of leading a healthy life with strong and healthy bone is to quit smoking and avoiding excessive consumption of alcohol. In women who smoke, their bodies produce low estrogen levels which have been established to accelerate rates of bone loss. Also excessive consumption of over three ounces of alcohol on dairy basis is harmful to the body. There are several ways to treat bone loss especially if it occurs at an early age or if the rates of bone loss are excessive depending on a person`s body. In the medical realm, there exist two distinct osteoporosis medications. The first category of medication is referred to as the antiresorptive medication. This particular medication has been purposely established and undertaken to slow down the rate of bone loss in our bodies. The next category is referred to as the anabolic medication since it entails the use of anabolic drugs whose their sole intention is to increase the rate of bone formation. Under the category of antiresorptive medication, medicines such as calcitonin, estrogen, bisphosphonates and denosumab are used in the treatment. They usually work by actually slowing down the rate of bone loss which occurs in the particulate breakdown part what is called the remodeling cycle. Patients who use these drugs stop losing excessive bone masses very quickly and rate of bone formation exceeds the rate of bone loss. Hence the patients increase their bone masses and at times they may regain their original bone density and strength. The ultimate goal of this kind of medication has always been to increase the bone density thereby reducing the chances of breaking those bones under conditions of minimal stresses. The next category of medication is the use of anabolic drugs. Teriparatide which is a type of parathyroid hormone is essentially used since it increases the rates of bone formation. Patients who use this kind of anabolic drug have the chance of rebuilding their previously weak bone into stronger bones which are not easy to break. It should be denoted that anabolic drugs have to be cleared with each country’s standards before they actually find their way into the pharmaceuticals and hospitals. We can conclude that early bone loss in our bodies can be disastrous when it occurs at excessive rates. Age is a major factor that contributes to bone loss though in many cases bone loss occurs after the age of thirty years. It should be noted that bones which merge together to form the skeleton are responsible for the facial features which are evident in every human being. We look different since our facial features are different. At different ages in our lives, our facial features are never identical. This is evident from the look of our faces at ages of ten to sixty years in our lives. At times of old age, the flesh on our faces appears to be sagging unlike in the childhood period when flesh was tightly embedded on our skeleton proving a smarter look. Bone loss problem has been addressed well and there are drugs that can actually reduce the rates of bone loss. Also we have noted different ways in which we can lead our lives to prevent this menace from affecting us. The manner in which we lead our lifestyles has been established to be a major contributing factor in bone loss. References Horton, J. E., Tarpley, T. M., Davis, W. F., National Institutes of Health (U.S.)., & National Institutes of Health (U.S.). (1978). Mechanisms of localized bone loss: A special supplement to Calcified tissue abstracts : proceedings of the first scientific evaluation workshop on localized bone loss, November 14-15, 1977, Washington, D.C. Arlington, Va: Information Retrieval Inc. Afghani, A. (2011). Hypertension and bone loss. New York: Nova Biomedica/Nova Science Publishers. Films for the Humanities & Sciences (Firm), Films Media Group., & Information Television Network. (2006). Osteoporosis: New treatments for bone loss. New York, N.Y: Films Media Group. Agarwal, S. C., & Stout, S. D. (2003). Bone loss and osteoporosis: An anthropological perspective. New York: Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers. Lanou, A. J., & Castleman, M. (2009). 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