Diseases of the Musculoskeletal System 2026

A Bone to Pick: Understanding Osteoporosis - Team 8

Media Type: Website

Summary

Osteoporosis is a common chronic disease that primarily affects skeletal bones, often characterized by weak, brittle bones that have increased susceptibility to fracture. Overactivity of bone breakdown leads to bone tissue deterioration causing low bone mass. Then, the walls of the honeycomb-like trabecular bone structure becomes thinner with larger spaces between them.

Importantly, osteoporosis is commonly asymptomatic, until a bone breaks. Therefore, it is integral to understand the developing etiology and symptoms before severe consequences occur.

Our team has constructed a comprehensive website hub for all topics related to osteoporosis. We have organised our site into several pages as follows: Home, what is it, diagnosis and treatment, complications, testimonials, and new research. We chose this format as this topic has vast resources currently, given its popular diagnoses; however, we found that it was difficult to consolidate information. Thus, a website allowed us to give viewers a simple and effective way to learn more about osteoporosis. We felt that testimonials were important to add as it added a patient perspective beyond biology, integrating reality with science. To improve accessibility, we have also added audio format of information for viewers to listen and read simultaneously, or simply listen if that is preferred.

Keywords: Osteoporosis Pathogenesis, Bone Mineral Density (BMD), Fragility Fractures, Estrogen Deficiency, Patient Centered Care, Musculoskeletal Health

Immunology in Focus: Rheumatoid Arthritis from Pathogenesis to Future Therapies - Team 49

Media Type: Magazine

Summary

This PULSE assignment is an educational magazine that focuses on rheumatoid arthritis (RA), a chronic autoimmune disease that affects joints that affects 1% of our global population and can impact overall health. The goal of this magazine was to raise awareness and explain a complex medical condition such as RA in a way that is simple, engaging, and visually appealing for the lay audience.

I chose the magazine format because it allows more detailed information to be displayed in a more interactive and accessible way compared to other medias such as infographics and blogs. The magazine includes topics such as what RA is, what causes it, how it develops in the body, and how it is diagnosed and treated. Throughout this magazine, it emphasizes the importance of early detection and explains how RA can affect not only joints but also other parts of the body, making this disease difficult to cure.

Interactive elements such as an initial diagnostic quiz and a visual comic that illustrates how the immune system mistakenly attacks the joints magazine was included in the magazine to help audience to simplify how RA works, and also help readers gauge how much they initially know about RA. These features help reinforce key concepts while making the content more engaging.

Overall, this magazine aims to increase awareness of RA by making scientific knowledge into more accessible educational content that supports learning and understanding in a more general audience.

Keywords: Inflammation, Immunology, Autoimmune Disease, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Musculoskeletal Diseases