Osteoporosis. Abstract artwork depicting the effect of osteoporosis on bone tissue. The figure of a woman is seen holding her hips in apparent pain with an image of a thigh-bone superimposed. The head and left side of this bone has the cancellous, or spongy" appearance of a bone affected by osteoporosis. Such bone has a reduced density, is more brittle and prone to fracture. Osteoporosis usually affects the elderly and women after the menopause. It is usually caused at menopause by a reduction in the production of the oestrogen hormones by the ovaries. Treatments include hormone replacement therapy."