Sundeep Khosla, M.D.
This is a very exciting time for the field of osteoporosis. We're on the threshold of potential cures for this disease, or even reversing the consequences of the disease.
Mayo has a unique place in the history of osteoporosis, as a disease that was defined initially at Mayo. Thirty, 40 years ago, osteoporosis was viewed as an inevitable consequence of aging. The most devastating consequence of the disease is hip fracture. And when people fracture their hip, about a quarter of them die in the hospital. Another quarter never actually make it back home.
When I would go to the osteoporosis clinic, really all I could offer my patients was calcium and vitamin D and perhaps estrogen. Now we have eight or nine new drugs, with more on the horizon. The Holy Grail really is to find new drugs that will essentially cure the disease, and I think we're very close to that.