Genetics of osteoporosis: searching for candidate genes for bone fragility

ABSTRACT The pathogenesis of osteoporosis, a common disease with great morbidity and mortality, comprises environmental and genetic factors. As with other complex disorders, the genetic basis of osteoporosis has been difficult to identify. Nevertheless, several approaches have been undertaken in the past decades in order to identify candidate genes for bone fragility, including the study of rare monogenic syndromes with striking bone phenotypes (e.g. osteogenesis imperfecta and osteopetroses), the analysis of individuals or families with extreme osteoporotic phenotypes (e.g. idiopathic juvenil...