2008 Santa Fe Bone Symposium: update on osteoporosis.

The Ninth Annual Santa Fe Bone Symposium was held on August 1-2, 2008, in Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA. The symposium faculty presented the current best evidence on selected topics of clinical relevance in the fields of osteoporosis, metabolic bone disease, and assessment of skeletal health. The educational venues were in the form of didactic presentations, panel discussions, challenging cases, and numerous interactive discussions. Knowledge of basic science and clinical trials was applied to real-world patient scenarios that were discussed by faculty experts and clinician participants. Topics included an update on the rationale and development of new agents for the treatment of osteoporosis, the use of bone turnover markers in clinical practice, hospital-based pathways for the management of hip fracture patients, injectable bisphosphonates for the treatment of osteoporosis, combination therapy with anabolic and antiresorptive agents, and assessment of skeletal health with devices other than central dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. This is a collection of scientific essays based on presentations and discussions at the 2008 Santa Fe Bone Symposium.