Tribute to the late Dr Greg Mundy

It is with much sadness that we record that Greg Mundy passed away peacefully at home with his family in San Antonio on February 25.
The ANZBMS was one of the many Societies and other organizations that Greg contributed to outstandingly in a career of consistent, remarkable achievement over four decades in bone cell biology and its control by hormones and cytokines, the implications of this for osteoporosis, and most notably, for the skeletal complications of cancer. On the several occasions on which he took part in ANZBMS meetings he provided great inspiration as a role model for our young scientsists.
Read full obituary by Prof TJ Martin

Posted: 4 March 2010

2010 ANZBMS Annual Scientific Meeting - 5-8 September 2010

**Call for Abstracts**
The online Abstract Submission & Awards Application Form is now open.
Abstract submission deadline: 1 May 2010

The 2010 Annual Scientific Meeting of the ANZBMS will be held in Adelaide from Sunday 5th to Wednesday 8th September. The venue will be the Adelaide Hilton. Lara Birchby (the [meeting] people pty ltd) has been appointed the Professional Conference Organiser for the meeting, and the Local Organising Committee will shortly begin working with Lara on detailed planning for the meeting. The LOC Chairperson is David Findlay, who is very happy to receive ideas for the meeting from ANZBMS members. I encourage all members to prioritise attendance at and involvement in the 2010 ASM in Adelaide
David Findlay (Chair, 2010 ASM LOC)
Website: www.anzbms.org.au/asm2010

Updated: 4 March 2010

ANZBMS Densitometry Course - Brisbane, 27-28 March 2010

The next course will be held on 27-28 March 2010 at the Queensland University of Technology, Kelvin Grove Campus in Brisbane.

*** Registration now open ***
Register by 26 February 2010 ($150 late fee applies from 27 February to 12 March 2010)
Information and registration: ANZBMS Clinical Densitometry Training Course

Posted: 2 February 2010

6th Clare Valley Bone Seminar - 26-29 March 2010

The Clare Valley Bone Meeting now has an established place in the Australian meeting calendar, similar to its US counterparts, the Sun Valley Workshop on Skeletal Tissue and the Gordon Research Conference on Bones and Teeth. Planning is well underway for the Sixth Clare Valley Bone Meeting, scheduled to take place next March.
6th Clare Valley Bone Seminar preliminary flyer (35KB)

Posted: 7 December 2009

DXA Statistical Quality Control (DXASQC) Spreadsheet

The DXASQC spreadsheet has been updated and another version has been added which automatically loads data from GE/Lunar machines (those with Encore software). Improvements to the DXASQC spreadsheet include:
- known bugs have been fixed;

- assistance has been built in for setting parameters, and
- there is now room for 2000 entries in the database.

The automatic version (for GE/Lunar + Encore) links up with the Lunar database and can be run from any machine across a network. Multiple instances of the program can be set up to monitor different machines on the network from any PC. The automatic version is much easier to use than the manual data entry version, but may need somebody who is "IT savvy" to help set it up .
Many thanks to John Cormack for his time and generosity in providing this excellent software.
See Resources > DXA > DXASQC Spreadsheet

Posted: 30 June 2009

Osteoporosis & Nutrition - Proposed Symposium - Call for Comment

There is accumulating evidence at the clinical and experimental level that osteoporosis is largely a preventable condition which is responsive to nutritional and lifestyle measures. Many Clinicians and Medical Scientists working in calcium-related areas have reached the conclusion that there is a need for an Australian symposium or workshop on nutritional aspects of osteoporosis, notably the roles of calcium, protein, sodium, vitamin D and possibly vitamin K in the regulation of bone homeostasis. This view is shared by the Adelaide group who are considering a 2 day meeting in Adelaide in March 2010.
Your comments and expression of interest are sought for this proposed symposium.
Please read the letter: Osteoporosis and Nutrition - A projected Symposium in Adelaide (25KB)

Posted: 17 June 2009

ANZBMS Strategic Plan 2009-2011

The ANZBMS Strategic Plan for 2009-2011 is now available to download as a PDF from the About Us page.

Posted: 17 June 2009

Changes to Eligibility Criteria for ANZBMS Travel Grant

Please note the new changes (in bold italics) to the ANZBMS Travel Grant (effective as of 2010 grant):

• The applicant must be a financial member of ANZBMS for the past 12 months (or provide documentary evidence of the commencement date of employment or candidature if this has occurred within the past 12 months).
• The applicant must have made a substantial contribution to the work and be first and presenting author of the paper to be delivered at the ANZBMS Annual Scientific Meeting.
• The applicant must be employed at a level no higher than lecturer or Institutional Research Fellow.
• The supervisor must be a financial member of ANZBMS.

See ANZBMS Travel Grant 2009 for more about this grant. Applications for the 2010 grant are not yet open.

Posted: 17 June 2009

ANZBMS Newsletter - May 2009

The latest issue of the ANZBMS newsletter is now available: ANZBMS Newsletter - MAY 2009 (484KB)

See the Newsletters and News Archives page for earlier issues.

Posted: 28 May 2009

BoneJoint Inferface conference presentations

Twelve presentations from the BoneJoint Interface conference (Sydney, June 08) are now available to view and listen to.
See Resources > BoneJoint Interfaces presentations.
Sponsored by Servier.

Posted: 19 August 2008

Bisphosphonates - audio interview for the 'Dental Files' program

The following interview was conducted between Dr Patrick Meaney and ANZBMS President, Prof Philip Sambrook, on behalf of the Australian Dental Association (ADA) for their audio program, Dental Files, and discusses the use of bisphosphonates.

Audio interview for ADA Dental Files on bisphosphonates* (mp3 file: 15min, 8.37MB)
*This interview is provided courtesy of the Australian Dental Association and was orginally produced for the ADA Dental Files audio magazine, August 2008 edition.

NOTE: If you have a slow internet connection, it may be more convenient if you patiently download and save the MP3 file onto your computer first before trying to listen to it. To do so, "right-click" on the link below, select "Save Target As..." from the popup menu and choose a place on your computer to save it.

Posted: 16 August 2008

Tribute to the late Prof Pierre Delmas

It is with regret that we advise you that Professor Pierre Delmas recently passed away after a prolonged illness.

Pierre was known and loved by many-clinicians, academicians, administrators, and patients alike. The contributions that Pierre made to the field are legion.
In addition to his seminal collection of work, Pierre will be remembered by many of his colleagues around the world for his intelligence, lucidity of thought, insightfulness, enthusiasm, and perhaps most of all for his biting wit. Pierre gave of his time generously, and was also a strong supporter of ANZBMS.
Read full article and download the eulogy given by Prof Ego Seeman.

Posted: 12 August 2008

'Calcium & Bone Health' position paper

The final version of the Calcium and Bone Health position paper, endorsed by ANZBMS, OA and ESA has been posted in the Resources > Policies & Position Statements section of this website.
See Calcium & Bone Health Position Paper

Posted: 22 July 2008

Bone Fracture Risk Calculator

The Garvan Institute website has an online calculator for estimating bone fracture risk. The Fracture Risk Calculator performs estimation of 5-year and 10-year fracture risks for any individual aged 60+ years by taking into account actual BMD T-score (or body weight, if BMD is not available), age, prior fracture, and fall history. This work has been developed from the data collected between 1989 and 2006 from >2000 men and women in the Dubbo Osteoporosis Epidemiology Study.
Website: www.garvan.org.au/promotions/bone-fracture-risk

Posted: 9 April 2008

IOF announces 'Progress in Osteoporosis' available free online

A free online review journal to keep you abreast of the latest research in osteoporosis, Progress in Osteoporosis is a leading quarterly review journal that provides a timely update of the most recent articles on scientific advances in the field of osteoporosis. Regular editorial overviews contain accurate summaries and incisive commentaries on the most relevant papers. Most original research and reviews are cited. Summaries and figures are provided for readers who may not have easy access to all the specialist literature.
See the Progress in Osteoporosis website

Posted: 18 March 2008

Osteonecrosis of the Jaw and bisphosphonates
UPDATE: ABC admits breaches of impartiality and accuracy in ONJ story

ABC has responded after the Audience and Consumer Affairs investigation relating to the misleading and inaccurate story on ONJ and bisphosphonates.
ABC response after complaint investigation (497KB)

 

The ABC's current affairs program, 7:30 Report, ran a story on Osteonecrosis of the Jaw (ONJ) and bisphosphonates on 11 Dec 2007. The story contained numerous errors and misleading information prompting ANZBMS President, Prof Philip Sambrook, to respond in a letter to the Executive Producer requesting urgent correction.
ANZBMS Statement about the 7:30 Report (42KB)
The transcript and video of that story is on the 7:30 Report website.

A follow-up interview was televised on 21 Dec 2007 with Prof Sambrook and Prof Nordin.

The transcript and video of the interview is on the 7:30 Report website.
Osteoporosis Australia and ANZMBS have jointly released a Consumer Fact Sheet on Bisphosphonates and ONJ (38KB)

Updated: 14 February 2008

Bone Densitometry Committee Report 2005/2006

The 2005/2006 report from the ANZBMS Bone Densitometry Committee is now available to download from the Resources: Bone Densitometry section.

Posted: 16 November 2006

ANZBMS Strategic Plan

The 2007-2009 ANZBMS Strategic Directions outlined in the plan were developed as a consequence of an on-going review of the strategic directions by ANZBMS during 2006. Specific objectives for each strategic direction are detailed. They will be evaluated for feasibility and further developed or changed to best meet the broad strategic directions.
Download the Strategic Plan (335KB)

Posted: 16 November 2006

Report on the economic cost of not adhering to bisphosphonate treatment

"Breaking Point - The economic cost of not adhering to bisphosphonate treatment for osteoporosis" is a report by Access Economics identifying major costs and related health care issues that require careful evaluation and that must be fully addressed in concerted attempts to improve health care and community outcomes in osteoporosis.

Download the report (417KB)

Posted: 16 November 2006