Osteoporosis
Recognising and managing rare bone disorders in clinical practice
At the 2025 annual congress of the National Osteoporosis Foundation of South Africa (NOFSA) in Cape Town, Professor Chandran explored the often-overlooked world of rare bone disorders through the symbolic tale of Apasmara from Hindu mythology. Representing ignorance and unrecognised disease, Apasmara’s physical features mirror characteristics seen in certain endocrine and skeletal disorders, highlighting how rare diseases have likely existed, and been underdiagnosed, for centuries. With more than 770 recognised rare skeletal disorders among the 6 000–8 000 rare diseases identified worldwide, Professor Chandran shared valuable clinical insights into recognising and managing these complex conditions, focusing on hypophosphataemia, sclerosteosis and hypophosphatasia through practical case studies.
You will learn about:
- Diverse causes of hypophosphataemia and the possible causes of renal phosphate wasting, with approaches to the identification and management of oncogenic osteomalacia
- Approaches to the identification and management of sclerosteosis and possible acquired and genetic causes of high bone mineral density
- The clinical spectrum of hypophosphataemia and approaches to its diagnosis and management.
Prof Manju Chandran
Senior Consultant Endocrinologist and Director of the Osteoporosis and Bone Metabolism Unit
As the founding Chairperson of the Asia Pacific Consortium on Osteoporosis (APCO), Professor Chandran leads experts from 23 countries in an effort to standardize osteoporosis care across the region. Under her leadership, APCO developed the APCO Framework, the world’s first dual-continental set of clinical standards, which now guides national osteoporosis guidelines in many countries, including those with low and middle incomes. This Framework ensures that underserved populations have access to the best available care. Professor Chandran’s visionary leadership led to the creation of the APCO Collective Intellect Clinical Case Discussion Platform (CICCDP), which allows clinicians across Asia to share expertise on complex metabolic bone cases. She also spearheaded the development of a peer-to-peer educational platform and a Bone Health Quality Improvement Tool Kit, both of which are freely accessible and designed to improve global osteoporosis care.
