Abstract

A healthy skeletal system with strong bones is essential to overall health and quality of life. Skeletal system being the framework of the human body, any problem affecting it can bring about great changes in the functioning of body systems. Bone and joint disorders are common and represent a major burden on health economics costs. For example, osteoporosis and related fractures are the leading cause of hospital admission in women over the age of 50 years, and >80 of adults over 55 years of age will suffer from osteoarthritis. Treatments of some metabolic disorders have been greatly improved by an increased understanding of bone and joint biology that has been facilitated by advances in unraveling underlying genetic contributions. The features of Metabolic Bone Disease (MBD) include decreased linear growth, skeletal deformity, radiological changes such as osteopenia, fractures and changes of rickets, and biochemical abnormalities such as raised alkaline phosphatase, hypophosphatemia and hypocalcemia. These interactions between bone and joint biology, physiology and genetics have also greatly enhanced the understanding of normal bone function as well as the molecular pathogenesis of metabolic bone disorders. © 2014 AENSI Publisher All rights reserved.