"European identity(ies) in matters of institutional law: 1st and 3rd pillars: Proper community identity versus classic intergovernmental identity of the European Union"

Is there a European identity? This is the question addressed in this panel dedicated to "European Identity." So, as I’m asked if there is a European identity, I will try to answer the question, "Is there a European identity in matters of institutional law?" But what does this question mean exactly? First of all, let’s remember that European law is part of international law. Let’s also remember that the European Community is an international organization just like NATO, the Council of Europe, and so on. If we want to see if there is a European identity in matters of institutional law, we will have to compare the European Union with other international organizations, and compare its institutional law with general international law. In other words, we will try to see if there are some specificities in European law in comparison to general international law. And we will try to detect if there are particularities in the European Union in comparison to other international organizations. Therefore, let’s have a look at five aspects of European institutional law: 1) the community legal order; 2) the community institutions; 3) the decision-making process; 4) the relations with the member States; 5) the relations with the sub-national level. After looking at the facts, we will try to draw some conclusions

Osteoporosis.

Osteoporosis constitutes a major financial burden for society, which will increase in the near future owing to the ageing of the population. Women are the most common victims of involutional osteoporosis because of post-menopausal bone loss induced by oestrogenic deficit. Men are nevertheless not completely untouched by osteoporosis, however, compared to women, they are under less threat. Every effort should be made to curtail the financial burden on society and to improve the quality of life of sufferers. The first steps should be to increase the calcium intake, the level of exercise and to decrease the risk of falls. A preventive therapy with oestroprogestogens should be instituted at the time of the menopause, provided there is no contraindication. In the absence of fracture data, the modalities of alternative therapies like calcitonin and bisphosphonates are still debated. For people already suffering from fractures, restorative therapy should be considered. Sodium fluoride therapy is able to provoke a decrease in vertebral fracture frequency without compromising cortical bone strength provided elementary rules for its use are respected. Whether bisphosphonates can protect against fractures is still unsettled. Vitamin D has a physiological role, particularly in institutionalized elderly patients deprived of any exposure to the sun. Anabolic steroids are not devoid of side effects, and furthermore, no fracture data are so far available

Radiological manifestations of bisphosphonate treatment with APD in a child suffering from osteogenesis imperfecta.

A 12-year-old female suffering from osteogenesis imperfecta (OI) was treated with 3-amino-1-hydroxypropylidene-1,1-bisphosphonate (APD) orally, 250 mg daily, for periods of 2 months, alternating with periods of 2 months of abstinence. Total duration of therapy was 1 year. Radiological and clinical improvement was striking. Furthermore, X-rays of the bones showed large, parallel radio-opaque striae, corresponding exactly to the periods of therapy. These were present in all metaphyses