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Product Details:
Description:Your Restore SM BioBalance NTx
test results indicates where your rate of bone breakdown falls
relative to normal ranges. Your test result provides valuable
information about your bones that can help you make important
decisions about protective therapies.
Product FAQ's:
What is NTx?
NTx is a molecule that is released during bone breakdown.
The NTx molecule is excreted into the urine and is measured
using a specialized laboratory procedure. This test result
indicates your rate of bone breakdown and risk of osteoporosis.
Why use the Restore sm
BioBalance NTx test? Clinical studies
have shown that the Restore SM BioBalance NTx analysis which
tests your NTx levels, is the most specific and sensitive
test available to measure your rate of bone breakdown –
a key element of bone health.
Can an NTx test tell me
if I have osteoporosis? No. Osteoporosis
can only be diagnosed with a bone mineral density test or
DEXA scan that assesses actual bone mass. Elevated levels
of NTx indicate that bone is breaking down faster than it
is being replaced and can indicate a risk of osteoporosis,
but it cannot confirm a diagnosis. If your bone loss analysis
results in a high rate (results greater than 67) of bone breakdown,
you may want to consider scheduling a bone mineral density
test / DEXA scan.
What does the NTx test
result mean for me? Your Restore SM BioBalance
NTx test result indicates where your rate of bone breakdown
falls relative to normal ranges. Your test result provides
valuable information about your bones that can help you make
important decisions about protective therapies.
How does BMD differ from
the Restore SM BioBalance NTx test? Do
I need to have both? Again, NTx tells you your rate of bone
breakdown, a dynamic measurement that can determine the probability
for a decrease in your bone mineral density (BMD) if nothing
is done to alter the current level of bone breakdown. Your
BMD provides a static measurement of your current bone density
by measuring how much bone you have. To get a complete picture
of your bone status, you should consider both tests. BMD requires
several measurements spaced 12-24 months apart to identify
significant bone loss. The NTx test can identify increased
bone breakdown in 60-90 days, which offers you a much more
immediate check on the success of lifestyle changes or other
interventions to improve bone health.
Can RestoreSM BioBalance
NTx tell me if medication is helping to slow my bone resorption?
Yes. Your NTx level should go down as
soon as three months of starting antiresorptive therapy. Drugs
that slow down bone resorption can help prevent and/or treat
osteoporosis by lowering the level of bone resorption. RestoreSM
BioBalance NTx can be used to show your response to drug therapy
and/or lifestyle changes.
Is Restore SM BioBalance
NTx useful to me even if I'm not on antiresorptive medication?
Yes. You can use the test to indicate your ongoing
level of bone resorption, as well as to see if lifestyle changes
you make are having a positive impact on your level of bone
resorption.
What else can I do when
my results show an elevated or high rate of bone loss? You
may want to consider having your hormone levels tested. The
RestoreSM BioBalance Hormone Profile test is as convenient
as the bone-loss test. The hormone profile test uses a saliva
specimen to measure your free hormone levels. Hormone testing
will let you know if you are a candidate for hormone replacement
therapy.
Are there scientific references
regarding measurement of bone loss with NTx?
Data available upon request from Customer Service, Ostex International,
Inc. 2203 Airport Way S., Suite 400, Seattle, WA 98134.
Other Information:
There are risk factors that contribute to bone loss and there
are steps you can take to slow the rate at which bone loss
occurs. The following question/answer section provides a comprehensive
overview of what you need to know about bone health.
About Bones
What is healthy bone? Your bones are made up of living tissue,
mainly collagen. Strong, healthy bone is continually maintained
through bone remodeling. The bone remodeling process has two
phases: breakdown (or resorption) and formation. Bone resorption
refers to bone removal or breakdown. In this phase, bone-resorbing
cells called osteoclasts excavate small pits on the bone surface,
releasing bone collagen and minerals in the circulatory system.
Once the osteoclasts have done their job, protein-secreting
cells called osteoblasts deposit new tissue – this is
the formation phase. When resorption and formation are in
balance, there is no net change in bone mass. After a resting
phase during which the bone is mineralized, the remodeling
cycle begins again.
Approximately 20% of bone tissue is replaced annually by
this process on a cyclical basis throughout the skeleton.
The entire remodeling process occurs over approximately 4
to 8 months, with a range of 3 months to 2 years. With age,
estrogen levels in women and testosterone levels in men decrease.
At the same time, bone breakdown may increase. However, most
people rarely know if they have substantial bone loss until
they fracture or break a bone.
Once I stop growing, do my bones continue to change? Yes.
Bones are made up of living tissue that keeps renewing itself.
This process is called bone remodeling and it is ongoing.
A key to healthy bones is to make sure you have a balance
in your rate of bone breakdown and bone formation.
Measuring Bone Loss..
How do I know how much bone I have? An x-ray or ultrasound
bone scan called DEXA bone densitometry can be used to determine
how much bone you have (usually measured at common fracture
sites, such as the hip, spine or wrist). This test, also called
a bone mineral density (BMD) test, is often used to confirm
a suspicion of osteoporosis or to predict a risk of fracture.
Based on your health and family history, you and your doctor
may decide that you should have this test. The DEXA bone densitometry
test confirms the amount of bone you have at the time of the
test, but it cannot measure how fast you may be losing bone
mass.
How can I find out my level of bone resorption (breakdown)?
A bone loss analysis is a fast and easy way to determine your
rate of bone breakdown. The results of this analysis will
help you decide if you need to take corrective action. The
analysis provides you with information to quickly and easily
determine if you have a normal, elevated, or high rate of
bone breakdown. It will also give you an indication as to
the probability for loss of bone mass if no therapy is undertaken
and monitor whether therapy is working in as soon as three
months.
If you have taken corrective action to slow your rate of
bone breakdown either through lifestyle changes or hormone
replacement therapy, the analysis will provide the information
to let you know if those corrective actions are having the
desired affect. By repeating the analysis three months after
you initiate corrective action the results will indicate the
impact of those actions.
"Information has been provided by and used with the
permission of Women's Health America, Inc."
Supplemental
Reading:
What is Osteoporosis?
Bone Loss Analysis
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