Osteoporosis update from the 2012 Santa Fe Bone Symposium

The core of the 2012 Santa Fe Bone Symposium consisted of plenary presentations on new developments in the fields of osteoporosis and metabolic bone disease, with a focus on current and future implications for patient care. These were complemented by oral abstracts, interactive discussions of challenging cases, a debate on benefits and risks of long-term bisphosphonate therapy, and a panel discussion of controversial issues in the management of osteoporosis. Other topics included a review of the most important scientific publications in the past year, new and emerging therapy for osteoporosis, the benefits and limitations of clinical practice guidelines in the care of individual patients, the effects of metallic elements on skeletal health, clinical applications of bone turnover markers, an engineering perspective of skeletal health and disease, and an update on the role of the International Society for Clinical Densitometry in education, certification, accreditation, and advocacy for high-quality bone density testing. The symposium was highlighted by an inaugural presentation of "2 Million 2 Many," a national campaign of the National Bone Health Alliance to increase awareness of osteoporosis.