Osteoporosis treatment of men
Osteoporosis in men is a significant medical, social and economic problem. Despite the fact that osteoporosis is considered to be more common for women than for men, it has been calculated that up to one third of fractures in men are accounted by osteoporosis. Osteoporosis in men often remains untreated due to little attention to the problem, which therefore increases the risk of new fractures. The level of understanding of osteoporosis in men has been improved among health care professionals but only a small proportion of patients with high risk of fracture undergo treatment. Thus, active detection of cases of the disease using a step-by-step approach based on the evaluation of clinical risk factors and supplemented with densitometry should be encouraged. Recently, the list of drugs approved for treating osteoporosis in men has been extended. Now it includes drugs which have been a long time available for treating postmenopausal osteoporosis in women. Unfortunately, the evidential basis for the administration of these drugs in men is low, in comparison with the abundance of comprehensive studies on women with postmenopausal osteoporosis. This review illustrates international practices of administration of a series of drugs for treating osteoporosis in men (Bisphosphonates, Denosumab, Teriparatide, strontium ranelate and other drugs under development).