LEADING EXPERT TO ESTABLISH OSTEOPOROSIS CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE AT CHARTER MEDICAL GROUP

Ireland’s leading Osteoporosis expert and Chairperson of the Irish Osteoporosis Society, Professor Moira O’Brien, is to establish a centre of excellence in conjunction with Charter Diagnostic Imaging, part of Charter Medical Group.

The centre will be based at Charter Medical Group in Smithfield. Professor O’Brien will lead the advancement of research, training and clinical practice at the Centre.

“Osteoporosis truly is a silent killer. Many people do not realise that they have osteoporosis until they fracture or break a bone at which stage the disease os often very advanced. It is estimated that there is an osteoporotic fracture every 30 seconds in the EU.” said Prof O’Brien.

“The good news is that it is a disease that really can be very well managed and if detected early, the risk of fractures can be greatly reduced. Diagnostics are key here and I am delighted to be working in partnership with Charter Medical who have state of the art diagnostic facilities, previously only available in a hospital setting and I would like to thank them for providing free scans annually to the Irish Osteoporosis Society.”

One in three women and 1 in 12 men will develop osteoporosis. More women die following hip fractures then from cancers of the ovary, cervix and uterus combined. Ireland has an aging population and the incidence of osteoporosis and osteoporosis related fractures is expected to increase. A European study has predicted that hip fractures in women over age 65 will increase from approx. 41.7 million in 1990 to 74.5 million in 2050. It is estimated that worldwide the annual cost of hip fractures will reach €132 billion by 2050.