The number of people affected by osteoporosis in India is higher than those in Western countries,doctors in the city said on the eve of the World Osteoporosis Day.

Osteoporosis, a disease of the bones that leads to an increased risk of fracture, was becoming a lifestyle disease, they said.

Dr Mahesh Bijjawara, spine surgeon at Jain Hospital, said, "The incidence of osteoporotic hip fractures is in the ratio of one woman to one man in India, while in the Western world, it is three women to one man. Also in the West, the peak incidence of osteoporosis occurs only when the person is about 70-80 years of age, while in India it afflicts them even at 50." He also underlined the importance of adequate calcium intake during the growing years to prevent the disease.

There was a gradual progressive bone loss from the mid-30s, which continued throughout life and was accelerated during menopause in women, he added.

Treatment options available for prevention of post-menopausal osteoporosis include estrogens and progesterone hormone replacement therapy, amongst others.

Leading a healthy lifestyle, quitting smoking, curtailing alcohol consumption, regular exercise and a balanced diet will help in keeping the disease at bay.

A drug based on vitamin A could prevent millions from going blind as they get older, say researchers. The treatment was able to stop the most common cause of blindness in old age during trials. Researchers behind the drug, fenretinide, found it halted the advance of age-related
macular degeneration, for which there is currently no cure.

They targeted the most prevalent form of the condition, known as 'dry' AMD, which is caused by the deterioration and death of cells in the macula - the part of the retina used to see straight ahead.

The disease robs sufferers of their sight by creating a blackspot in the centre of their vision, reports the Daily Mail.

It can make it impossible to carry out everyday tasks such as reading, driving and watching television.

While the less common 'wet' form can be treated, nothing can be done to help the bulk of patients.

The US research studied fenretinide, which is derived from vitamin A, the vitamin found in carrots, and which was originally designed to tackle arthritis.

Almost 250 men and women with dry AMD took a fenretinide pill a day or a placebo.

In the highest dose, the drug halted visual deterioration after a year. This suggests that while it was unable to do anything to stop cells that were already damaged from dying, it protected healthy cells.

Although the research is still preliminary, it offers promise of a treatment for the disease.

It affects millions across the world. The number of British sufferers could more than treble to one million within 25 years as the population ages.

Jason Slakter of New York University School of Medicine said: "There are currently no effective treatments for dry AMD and the need for finding one is grave."

New insight into how different types of age-related hearing loss may occur could help lead to the development of drugs to preserve hearing, scientists say.

The team at the University of Minnesota Medical School looked at how two closely related genes affect hearing in mice. Mutations in these genes are associated with deafness in humans, they noted.

The study, published online Oct. 14 in PLoS Genetics, found that proteins produced by the genes play a key role in two important processes that are required to maintain hearing in mice.

"These separate maintenance pathways are likely important for maintaining auditory function during aging and may contribute to future understanding of common forms of age-related hearing loss in humans," study author Ben Perrin said in a news release from the journal's publisher.

Because animal studies frequently fail to produce beneficial results for humans, additional research is needed.

Funding for the study was supplied by the U.S. National Institutes of Health.

It's a high-profile disease and millions are raised every year to help battle breast cancer. But while overall survival rates are rising, today the Daily Mirror joins the fight against the serious problem facing patients

You may have had the "all clear" but every breast cancer survivor will tell you the cloud of doubt is always hanging over you.

At the back of your mind you're worrying it could return - any time and in any part of your body. The worst possible news is to be told: "It's back."

Secondary breast cancer - in which the cancer cells spread from the first tumour in the breast to another part of the body via the bloodstream - doesn't make the headlines, yet it strikes 100,000 women in the UK. It is incurable but cancer care nurses themselves believe the support these sufferers receive is woefully inadequate.

Thanks to better awareness, better screening and new treatments, survival rates for women with breast cancer are rising overall. Eight out of 10 patients will live for at least five years and seven out of 10 for more than 10 years.

But the outlook for those with a secondary diagnosis is bleak.

Catching the cancer before it spreads is key as survival rates plummet if the cancer has spread beyond the breast - which is most likely to happen in the first two years after diagnosis.

Secondary tumours are most commonly found in the bone, the lungs, the liver and the brain.

One in five women can expect to live for at least five years after a secondary diagnosis, while only one in 10 will live for more than 10.

It's a grim prospect and something that mum-of-three Christina Quilter, at just 29, has already had to face up to.

She was originally diagnosed with breast cancer three years ago and it returned last year in an advanced and incurable form.

Christina says: "When you are initially diagnosed it is scary and new but there is a chance of cure.

"Once you get passed the shock you are raring to go and you've got this fight and you want to win it.

"But this time it cannot be cured so I know what is going to happen to me and I'm just hoping that it's not going to be soon."

Christina's husband Dan, 30, and children Cameron, 12, Aaliyah, seven, and George, five, have seen their mum battle cancer for more than three years. It was picked up after she started experiencing pain in her right breast. A mastectomy was followed by chemotherapy.

Then, six months after being discharged by her oncologist, Christina felt lumps appearing in her neck. The cancer was back and attacking her lymphatic system.

"This time I didn't ask what the prognosis was," says Christina, from Bury St Edmunds.

While a caring and efficient ser vice wheels into action for patients when cancer is first d i a g n o s e d , c a m p a i g n e r s believe the same excellent support does not extend to women suffering secondary disease.

Despite billions spent on breast cancer each year, a survey of specialist nurses by Breast Cancer Care revealed that 57% of them felt support was inadequate for women whose cancer had spread.

Christina says: "People talk to you when you are first getting treatment because they know there is a way out of it. They want to help you but there's little of that with secondary because there is no happy ending. It's hanging over my head and there is nobody there to help me."

Christina now goes into hospital every three weeks for a drip of the cancer drug Herceptin and has been having scans every three months.

Although Christina is happy with the way the hospital is treating her, she feels she was offered far more support with her first diagnosis.

"There is just something lacking for secondary cancer," she says.

"They assume because you have had cancer once you know what to do and how to feel. The emotional impact is immense. You feel isolated at best and abandoned at worst.

"There should be someone trained to look after women like me - the forgotten women."

Breast Cancer Care has launched a new campaign calling on the Government to monitor the number with secondary cancer and ensure they get emotional and practical support. Samia al Qadhi, chief executive of Breast Cancer Care, says: "If we do not know how many people are receiving a diagnosis of secondary breast cancer, how can we possibly meet their needs? "It is simply unacceptable when so many more people are living longer with advanced breast cancer that Christina and others like her are telling us they feel let down.

"While progress in treatments means that more are living with incurable cancer, the system is simply failing to keep up. We need to see an effectively joined-up service that ensures that no one ever gets forgotten."

Thirty-four-year-old John Mathews (name changed) had taken more than 20 days of leave from his work at a software firm in the city last month. Reason: Severe back and hip pain. He was unable to walk or put his mind to anything because of the pain. Though sympathetic to his condition, his boss was fuming at his inability to perform at work.

"I had been working at the firm for the past five years and never got a bad review from my seniors," he says. "After taking painkillers one after the other, I decided to consult an orthopaedic surgeon. I was diagnosed with osteoarthritis."

Mathews's sedentary lifestyle and being overweight were to blame for his condition, said his doctor. Working late, partying late, erratic eating habits, smoking and drinking were a few aspects of Mathews's lifestyle before he was diagnosed with osteoarthritis.

"I was forced to live a normal life after visiting the doctor and after a drastic change in lifestyle and two hip surgeries, I finally lead a healthy and non-restricted life," he says.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates that one in six people and one in three families are affected by arthritis. Rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis are the most common, say experts. Osteoarthritis occurs in 25% of people above 50 years as the knee and hip joints wear off with age. Doctors say lack of awareness is the main reason behind the surge in the number of arthritis patients.

"The incidence of arthritis among youngsters has certainly increased in the past one decade," says Dr HPC Khincha, orthopaedic surgeon specialising in joint replacement surgery, Sagar Hospital.

"While a lifestyle problem like obesity is one of the main reasons behind the increase in number, one can also say that the spread of awareness of arthritis has also been instrumental in bringing more and more people to hospitals for an early diagnosis."

Lack of physical activity due to advancement in technology - youngsters like to indulge in videogames more than outdoor games today; erratic working hours, irregular eating habits and so on, are a few reasons for the increase in number of arthritis patients today.

"Pain, difficulty in activities of daily living and deformity in later stages are a few symptoms that people should take seriously and consult a doctor at the earliest. Early diagnosis and treatment help one lead a healthier and a non-restrictive life," says Dr Khincha.

There are over 100 different forms of arthritis. The most common form, osteoarthritis (degenerative joint disease), is a result of trauma to the joint, infection of the joint, or age. Other arthritis forms are rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, and related autoimmune diseases.

"Rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis are the most common forms of arthritis. I see more and more youngsters falling prey to it nowadays. It is believed that 15 per cent of India's population suffers from arthritis. Much can be blamed on the sedentary lifestyles one leads today - obesity, bad eating habits, erratic working hours, etc are a few realities today," says Dr Thomas Chandy, director and chief of orthopaedic and joint replacement, - Hospital for Orthopaedics, Sports Medicine, Arthritis & Trauma (HOSMAT) Hospital.

Almost a decade ago, arthritis used to mostly affect those in their late 60s and 70s, but today, there are an increasing number of middle-aged people who suffer from it too.

"Neglecting injuries, leading a sedentary lifestyle, lack of exercise among the youth are reasons that make them predisposed to an arthritic condition later in their future," says Dr Hemanth Kalyan, consultant orthopaedic surgeon and sports medicine, Manipal Hospital. "The best way to keep yourself from running a risk of arthritis in your 40s is by keeping a check on your lifestyle when you're younger," advises Dr Kalyan.