Osteoporosis she says, is not a natural effect of aging. Some are more susceptible than others. Gold also says alcohol, smoking, cortico-steroids, excess thyroid replacement, and chemotherapy can make a person more likely to suffer from osteoporosis. That device might be a car, a bicycle, glasses, a hearing aid, a walking cane or a wheelchair. Tom Britt has more.
Assistive technology is big business.
Dr. Helen Hoenig of Duke University Medical Center and the Veterans Administration hospitals is heading up a study on wheelchairs - the first to provide hard scientific evidence of their effectiveness. Eighty percent of wheelchair patients report problems. There were 55,000 wheelchair accidents in 1992 resulting in hospitalization. Some physicians argue that patients are better off using wheelchairs, while others say the wheelchairs are more of a problem than a solution. Hoenig says she hopes the study will result in better wheelchairs and better regulations covering wheelchairs.