Metabolic

Metabolic disorders are an important chapter of musculoskeletal pathology of the elderly, and they represent a challenging condition to be managed. Nowadays imaging plays a central role in the management of metabolic musculoskeletal diseases, from the diagnosis to treatment monitoring and to the evaluation of complications. The huge impact of such conditions on health and economy makes imaging tasks very hard. Developments in imaging technologies have recently improved the potential for noninvasive study of bone, fat and muscular anatomy, their quantification, as well as the evaluation of physiology and pathophysiology of musculoskeletal tissues. However, sometimes all these fascinating methods can be pursued in a research setting only, due to the vast incidence of diseases like osteoporosis. Among all metabolic bone diseases occurring in the elderly, osteoporosis is the most common and a major cause of disability, morbidity, and mortality. The early diagnosis of osteoporosis is the key point in the prevention of fractures that often become a fatal complication of the disease. Other well-known metabolic musculoskeletal disorders (osteomalacia, Paget disease) are included in this chapter as well as the newest pathological entities, like sarcopenia and related conditions.