Strontium ranelate also protects younger postmenopausal osteoporotic women
New data recently presented during the 29th American Society for Bone and Mineral Research (ASBMR) meeting, showed that strontium ranelate has significant vertebral antifracture efficacy in young postmenopausal osteoporotic women aged between 50 and 65 years, confirming the benefit of strontium ranelate, whatever the age of the patients.
Osteoblast-induced osteoclast differentiation: BMP2 helps a lot
Bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) are members of the TGFβ superfamily synthesized by bone cells and playing a major role in differentiation of the bone cell lineages. One of these proteins, BMP2, is synthesized by osteoblasts and accumulates in the extracellular matrix. It exerts paracrine effects at the vicinity of its sites of synthesis and its importance in bone development and repair has been acknowledged [1, 2].
Compliance with osteoporosis therapy is the weakest link
The lifetime risk for fragility fractures due to osteoporosis after the age of 50 years is about 50% in women and 20% in men. The resultant high morbidity, mortality, and economic costs for elderly people have stimulated the development of effective interventions to reduce fracture risk. Despite these advances, however, the question remains as to whether patients take their treatment as prescribed (compliance) and for the recommended duration (persistence) [1].
Nicotine is bad for your bones
That cigarette smoking is detrimental to bone is now widely acknowledged and causes are not univocal. The cellular mechanisms underlying these effects, however, are not fully understood. Two recent studies, performed in rats [1] and man [2] bring new insights into this field.
In the first study, Hapidin et al. administered nicotine to rats for 4 months. They observed that nicotine administration increased serum concentrations of IL-1 and IL-6, two interleukins known to stimulate bone resorption. Histomorphometric analysis showed that nicotine significantly decreased the trabecular bone volume, trabecular thickness, mineralizing surface, mineral appositional rate, and bone formation rate.
 Download here the slide set presented by Prof. Friedlander, on Thursday, November 10th. |
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