Latest news with #RoyalOsteoporosisSociety
Daily Mail
3 days ago
- General
- Daily Mail
Doctors warn of a horrifying new side effect of taking fat jabs - with the elderly and frail especially at risk
Weight-loss drugs could be linked to osteoporosis and increased risk of bone fractures, doctors have warned. The Royal Osteoporosis Society (ROS) has expressed concern over research showing that up to 40 per cent of the weight people lose by using injections of GLP-1 agonists – such as Ozempic, Wegovy and Mounjaro – comes from their vital muscle and bone mass. Losing muscle can impair strength and joint stability, while reduced bone density raises the risk of osteoporosis – a condition that can cause brittle bones. Approximately half a million people in the UK now take GLP-1 drugs, with clinical trials showing they can help patients lose up to 20 per cent of their body weight. However, experts said users should be made aware of potential negative effects. 'This is an emerging field of research and people need to be warned that using these drugs increases the risk of losing bone and muscle as well as fat,' Julia Thomson, a specialist nurse with the ROS, told the Sunday Express. 'Bone and muscle health is key to preventing the risk of falling and fractures which can lead to premature death or else have a devastating effect on people's ability to live independently.' She said it is 'essential' that fat jabs are prescribed appropriately after a discussion with a doctor. Women are at a higher risk of developing osteoporosis, especially after menopause when a decline in oestrogen levels further accelerates bone loss. Professor Carl Heneghan, director of Oxford University's Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine, said: 'Any drug that reduces muscle mass and bone density is a bad idea for people who are frail and those vulnerable to fractures with osteoporosis. 'The evidence is clear – these drugs carry significant risks and the longer a patient stays on them, the greater the risk.' He said the focus should be on preventing obesity, rather than 'medicating large swathes of the population as a quick fix to the obesity pandemic'. Recent analysis by the University of Liverpool found up to 40 per cent of the weight lost while using GLP-1 is muscle and bone.
BBC News
13-05-2025
- Health
- BBC News
Grimsby to get two new high-tech bone scanning machines
Grimsby is to get two new bone scanning machines to help spot conditions such as DEXA machines will be installed at Diana, Princess of Wales Hospital and the new Community Diagnostic Centre (CDC), due to open at Freshney Place later this hospital scanner will be used on frailer patients and is one of 13 in England funded by the the funding, Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting said the new machines would provide an extra 30,000 scans a year nationwide. Craig Jones, chief executive of the Royal Osteoporosis Society, said people in Grimsby who have undiagnosed osteoporosis were "going to benefit enormously" from the new machines."Osteoporosis can cause life-threatening fractures, bringing hospitalisation and isolation," he said."This new scanner will diagnose thousands of patients early, giving them back the lives and futures they deserve."According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, the new unit at the CDC will allow GPs to send patients for a scan without needing to refer them for a hospital to highlights from Lincolnshire on BBC Sounds, watch the latest episode of Look North or tell us about a story you think we should be covering here.
BBC News
13-05-2025
- Health
- BBC News
New bone scanner coming to Cranleigh Village Hospital
A new state-of-the-art bone scanner to help early diagnosis of illnesses such as osteoporosis is coming to a Surrey Village Hospital will receive one of 13 new scanners pledged by the Mann, clinical lead for women's health at NHS England, said the new scanners were a "welcome targeted investment" for the NHS Trusts set to receive them."They measure tiny reductions in bone density that can help us diagnose osteoporosis in its early stages, before you break a bone," she added. "These scanners are key tools for prevention, particularly for some women who are known to be at higher risk of osteoporosis such as those who go through early menopause."Osteoporosis, which weakens bones making them fragile and more likely to break, affects more than two million women in than one in three women and one in five men will experience a fracture due to osteoporosis in their lifetime, according to the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC). 'Life-threatening fractures' The new DEXA scanners have advanced technology to identify with minute detail the quality of a patient's bones, the DHSC first patients will receive an invitation for appointments to use the new scanner later this Jones, chief executive of the Royal Osteoporosis Society, said people in Surrey with undiagnosed osteoporosis would "benefit enormously" from the new scanner."Osteoporosis can cause life-threatening fractures, bringing hospitalisation and isolation, but this new scanner will diagnose thousands of patients early, giving them back the lives and futures they deserve," he at Cranleigh Village Hospital, which is run by Royal Surrey NHS Foundation Trust, include radiology, podiatry, physiotherapy and numerous outpatient clinics.
Yahoo
30-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
University of Worcester graduate runs marathon for late brother-in-law
A MAN has completed a marathon in memory of his late brother-in-law, raising almost £3,000. Daniel Player, a University of Worcester student, died in 2024 at the age of 26 before he could graduate. He was born with scoliosis and restrictive lung disease and was later diagnosed with osteoporosis. Mr Player was eventually diagnosed as having a very rare condition called spondylocostal dysostosis and lived with constant pain. Over the weekend, family member Nathan Beard took on the Manchester Marathon to raise money for a cause close to his late brother-in-law's heart. Mr Beard said: "I was preparing for this before Dan passed away. "I spoke to him about it and asked which charity he'd like me to raise money for and he said the Royal Osteoporosis Society." Mr Beard, who is also a graduate from the university, said: "Because that was Dan's request, it makes it more personal for me to raise as much as I can. "When I saw I'd raised a thousand pounds in the first weekend I couldn't believe it." Prior to Sunday, Mr Beard had completed 10-kilometre runs and half marathons, but never the full 26.2-mile marathon distance. He said: "I'm really happy to have completed the marathon. "The conditions were really tough given the warm weather. "I was going well until about mile 15 and struggled from there, but I was determined to finish it for Dan. "The tagline for training and the race was 'Do it for Dan', and that's what kept me going. "I like to think he was supporting me in spirit." He added: "The original target I set was £1,000, and I hit that in just a couple of days, so I revised it to £2,000, and to have now comfortably surpassed that is just incredible."
Yahoo
27-01-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Wes Streeting dumps women's health target from NHS plan
Wes Streeting is to drop women's health targets from a new NHS plan, prompting accusations he is sidelining female patients. On Thursday, health officials will publish guidance for NHS trusts. However, a previously included target to roll out women's health hubs in all parts of the country will be missing. The Government's women's health ambassador criticised the move. Dame Lesley Regan urged the Health Secretary to think again and said it would be 'very disappointing' if the NHS planning guidance abandoned the target, saying 'we can't afford not to do it'. Charities said women's health was being 'sidelined and shunted back'. Since Labour won the election, Mr Streeting has committed to publish a men's health strategy. But Dame Lesley, who was appointed in 2022 as the government's first women's health ambassador for England, suggested that ministers and health officials were in danger of forgetting about women, despite the fact they constitute 51 per cent of the population. 'There already is a men's health strategy: it's called the NHS; it's already designed by men for men,' she said. Women's health groups also raised concerns that the planning guidance – which will halve the number of central NHS targets – will fail to honour the Health Secretary's pledges to roll out fracture services which identify osteoporosis. After winning the election, Mr Streeting said that one of his first acts in government would be to ensure the rollout of such clinics across the country, but since then no central plans have been issued. Craig Jones, chief executive of the Royal Osteoporosis Society, said: 'Our concern is that it is always women's health that is sidelined and shunted back. 'The move to fewer targets shouldn't come at the expense of action on election pledges, which Wes Streeting made because he recognised lives were being needlessly ruined, piling up emergency cases for the NHS. He promised the rollout of fracture clinics would be one of his first acts in post. 'Half of women over the age of 50 will suffer from osteoporosis, and women's health hubs can be the first point of contact to get women diagnosed,' he added. Every year, NHS England publishes planning guidance, which sets out the key priorities for NHS trusts and commissioners. This year's guidance, due on Thursday, is expected to halve the number of targets, as part of efforts by the Health Secretary to give more autonomy to those running services. The previous guidance promised to establish and develop at least one women's health hub in every integrated care board by December last year. However, this has yet to be met, with about one in ten areas falling behind. Ministers are reportedly concerned that the NHS too often gives in to interest group lobbyists. Dame Lesley said it would be 'extraordinary' to justify dropping a pledge for women in such a way, adding: 'If we are a lobby group, we are lobbying for 51 per cent of the population.' 'It will be very disappointing if we're not going to push on with women's health hubs because, frankly, we can't afford not to do it this way,' she said. The hubs are designed to bring services for women together, with mammograms, smears, contraception, and help with menopause and diagnosis and treatment of common gynaecological problems all available under one roof. Abandoning the pledge would mean 'making women run around' to get their needs met, Dame Lesley said. The senior figure, who is also professor of obstetrics and gynaecology at Imperial College London, was appointed women's health ambassador in July 2022, just ahead of publication of the first-ever Women's Health Strategy, which promised an expansion in 'one-stop shops'. She told The Telegraph: 'I really understand that everybody's up against the cosh. I really understand that we are very, very short of money, but the thing I would like to push is that we, in this instance, we can't afford not to prioritise the health hubs, because they're going to reduce the waiting list,' she said. Obstetrics and gynaecology waiting lists are among the longest, with ministers having pledged to prioritise such areas as part of efforts to clear backlogs. Dr Ranee Thakar, president of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, said: 'This government promised that women's health would never again be neglected, so it is incredibly disappointing to hear that the pledge to roll out women's health hubs may be scrapped. 'This is short-term thinking that will have long-term consequences for women across the country, who are often bounced back and forwards between services and waiting far too long for the diagnoses and treatment they need.' Tina Backhouse, general manager of Theramex UK and Ireland, a pharmaceutical company that specialises in women's health, said: 'Removing a national target for women to be able to access specialist hubs would undermine the Government's stated commitment to women's health. 'If the Government truly wants to prevent rather than treat illness then community-based hubs that help people out of hospital are essential, which is why it would be so short-sighted to water down the NHS's commitment to women's health.' An NHS spokesman said: 'It is absolutely right that women's health is taken seriously by the NHS – while hubs are already available in more than nine in ten areas of the country, it is vital that local systems have convenient and rapid services in place to meet the needs of women in their local communities.' Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. 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