Post-menopausal osteoporosis is a skeletal pathology of a social nature that has reached alarming epidemiological proportions in the Western world in recent years. Fractures due to postmenopausal osteoporosis are one of the major causes of morbidity and fatalities among elderly women. The incidence of these fractures is increasing every year, also as a consequence of the gradual lengthening of life expectancy. This factor, that is more pronounced among women than among men, will determine an aging of the population with a consequent increase in the incidence of geriatric pathologies, like osteoporosis. In recent years, intense scientific interest has focused on the problem of osteoporosis and this has led to significant progress in the area of diagnostics as well as in treatment. In view of the rapidity with which much information has come to light, opportunities for verification, discussion and cultural exchanges among the experts are particularly useful. This is the background for the International Symposium to be held in Siena on April 16th and 17th. It will bring together some of the greatest national and international experts on the subject, in an effort to focus the discussion on a number of significant aspects: - updated epidemiological data on the current situation - the latest information on the physio-pathological mechanisms of the disease - the most valid and reliable methods of diagnostics for the identification of patients at high risk for fractures - the effectiveness and limitations of the existing therapies and new possible therapeutic approaches - the pharmaco-economic aspects of osteoporosis. This will make it possible to draw up an overall picture of current knowledge in the field of postmenopausal osteoporosis and will provide an exchange of ideas and information among the experts and the physicians who have to combat this ìsilentî epidemic.
Prof. Carlo Gennari / Prof. Andrea R. Genazzani Chairmen of the Symposium