BONE ABSORPTIOMETRY - A CRITICAL-APPRAISAL OF VARIOUS METHODS

The replacement of biopsies by non-invasive techniques for the measure ment of bone mass has been important in the diagnosis and follow-up of osteoporosis. These techniques have enabled investigators to demonstr ate the importance of the menopause in osteoporosis, and they have rev ealed the relationship between low bone mass and the increased inciden ce of fracture, as well as the impact of drugs on bone mass. The low r adiation and high precision of recently developed non-invasive techniq ues have also made feasible the investigation of children and adolesce nts for the non-invasive quantitative assessment of bone mass. This sh ort review provides a critical appraisal of the various non-invasive m ethods that have been developed to measure bone mass (1).