Current indications for prevention and therapy of steroid-iduced osteoporosis in men and women.

Steroid-induced osteoporosis is a textbook example of the secondary type of this medical condition. Glucocorticosteroids suppress bone formation by their direct and indirect effect on osteoblasts, osteoclasts and osteocytes, increasing their resorption and, eventually, leading to negative bone balance. A clinical problem arises regarding the fact that approximately 50% of patients on chronic steroid therapy undergo asymptomatic bone fractures....