It is the only blood test available in the USA to aid in the management of postmenopausal osteoporosis. Osteoporosis is a disease, often with no detectable symptoms, that affects between 15 to 25 million people in the United States. Often the first sign of Osteoporosis is a bone fracture in the hip or wrist. Bone is always breaking down and rebuilding as part of the natural cycle, but when Osteoporosis strikes, this process is thrown out of balance.
Bones can become brittle, many times resulting in debilitating fractures.
This condition is especially common in postmenopausal women, and the lack of estrogen is believed to be the cause. Fortunately, there is new hope for managing Osteoporosis. Hybritech, a subsidiary of Beckman Coulter, has developed a laboratory blood test, called Ostase, which can accurately measure how well bone is responding to hormone replacement therapy. This gives doctors a clear indication of whether the therapy is successful in reducing bone loss. Ostase, a biochemical marker of bone turnover, has been demonstrated effective in managing postmenopausal women on osteoporotic therapy.