The Latest Osteoporosis Research - Arthritis & Osteoporosis Research

The Latest Osteoporosis Research
Arthritis Today
Created on: 06/11/07

There are more ways than ever to treat osteoporosis, the bone-thinning disease in which the skeleton can become so porous it cannot bear the weight of the body without breaking. But osteoporosis remains underdiagnosed because there’s no outward sign or pain – until the disease has become so serious that a fracture occurs. And a fall for a person with osteoporosis can lead to a disabling injury, or even death.

Osteoporosis affects 10 million people – 2 million of whom are men – and 34 million adults are at risk, according to the United States Bone and Joint Decade, a task force of institutions (including the Arthritis Foundation) building awareness and improving research and treatment for bone and joint problems.

Researchers have pinpointed several contributing factors for osteoporosis, in addition to aging. In 2003, researchers in Iceland discovered a gene associated with the disease, called the bone morphogenetic protein-2 (BMP-2) gene, and have been developing a test to detect it so that preventive steps could start early. Knowing the genes that control osteoporosis could lead to new preventive treatments, such as gene therapy, and the hunt for more genes is on.

Even if your genes don’t predispose you to osteoporosis, the choices you make could. Bone mass builds until about age 30, and the amount of bone you have then is the most you’ll ever have. But even if you’re older than 30, trying to rebuild bone mass and prevent loss is wise – especially if you have inflammatory conditions, such as RA, and take corticosteroids, such as prednisone.

In people with RA, bone loss occurs around the joints because two types of cells vital for bone regrowth – osteoblasts and osteoclasts – communicate less effectively, according to a new study from Washington University in St. Louis, Mo. “The bone loss can be compounded by the use of cortico-steroids to control inflammation,” says Steven R. Goldring, MD, chief scientific officer at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City. In addition to medications, certain chemicals produced by the body itself during the inflammation process, called cytokines, also inhibit bone remodeling and bone rebuilding, he says. Researchers also are investigating the effects of hormones on bones.

(Arthritis Today May-June 2007)

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