Role of a centralized regional referral center for metabolic bone diseases.

Many patients are affected by metabolic bone diseases such as osteoporosis and Paget's disease, and many medical specialties such as internal medicine, orthopedics, radiology, gynecology and endocrinology are involved in their diagnosis and treatment. The most common metabolic disease of bone is osteoporosis, but osteoporosis-related fractures, mainly vertebral, are often underdiagnosed and undertreated by physicians. Thus, a Center specializing in these diseases would represent a good opportunity to improve clinical practice and guarantee proper communications between specialists in the field and general practitioners.