Osteoporosis is a bone-thinning disease that may result in fractures, and numerous types of drugs are available to prevent the condition.
The researchers from the Columbia University Medical Center who initiated the study found that the new drug that was initially developed to treat the irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), reversed bone loss, and also cured the disease in some cases.
“This is a devastating disease and it is very expensive. We pay $20 billion a year in this country to fix fractures. One in two women and one in four men will break a bone as they age,” says Dr Ethel S Siris who is ex-president of the National Osteoporosis Foundation.
She further adds, “The notion of a different approach to producing new bone is very, very exciting.”
Study details and findings
The research team headed by Dr Gerard Karsenty gave a single small dose of the drug everyday for a period of six weeks to mice and then observed the rodents for results.
It was found that the drug ceased the production of serotonin in the gut without affecting the serotonin levels in the brain, and thus saved the animals from developing the disease that leads to weak and brittle bones.
They also observed that bone loss was reversed in the female rodents whose ovaries had been removed through an operation to cause menopause in them.
The researchers compared the drug with injected parathyroid hormone, and found that the new drug was more efficient in building new bones at small doses.
“By pure serendipity, we came across an experimental drug that did just that,” informs lead author of the study, Dr Gerard Karsenty.
Promising drug but needs for more proof
The researchers recommend more trials on small animals to find the pros and cons of the new drug on treating osteoporosis. Human trials are also on the list but the Columbia team is not sure about these yet.
“We have to go fast, slowly. This is promising, but we have a lot more research to do,” says Dr Gerard Karsenty.
National Osteoporosis Foundation’s present president, Robert R Recker who is a professor at the Creighton University concludes, “This work is interesting, but it is not yet overwhelming.”
The study and its findings have been detailed in the February issue of the Journal, Nature Medicine.
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