Serotonin May Hold Key to Halting Osteoporosis

A drug that reverses osteoporosis in mice looks like a promising candidate for treating the human version of the disease. Gerard Karsenty and his colleagues at Columbia University Medical Center have shown that blocking the neurotransmitter serotonin--secreted from the gut--promotes bone growth. The research appears on-line at www.nature.com/naturemedicine - Yadav et al. Nature Medicine, 7 February 2010. DOI: 10.1038/nm.2098

Category:

Science & Technology

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• npg
• nature
• nature medicine
• gerard karsenty
• columbia university
• osteoporosis
• serotonin

[iampeeay01]

would you mind telling me the best way to prevent osteoporosis? thanks... :)

[happinesson]

discovery leads to solution..hope this will be available in the market.mice have a big part in each research! thanks mickey!

[jhamien920]

This is more fun and interesting than reading thick books.

[amarillo275]

Many studies have now shown that osteoporosis can be halted and reversed by diet, supplements and exercise. Information and guidance about this is easily available e.g. Vivian Goldschmidt and Dr. Susan E. Brown have much to say about it. Pharmaceutical drugs always have side effects, often dangerous, even if these take a few years to manifest whereas good nutrition and exercise will only improve our general health.

[NicolaRedwooddforest]

@omiolo Yes, absolutely great thought link. Osteoporosis is an illness caused by emotional stress as well as physiological stress as well as environmental pollution.

[NicolaRedwooddforest]

Fluoride, still added in some communities within the USA into the city water supply, causes osteoporosis and bone cancer. It needs to be removed from our water supply.

[o0gentlebreeze0o]

i want to learn obout it

[DancingHorses26]

Isn't Serotonin the "feel good" chemical of the brain? I've heard that people who don't produce enough Serotonin get really depressed.

[maneschijn3]

How long do you expect it will take to get the medicin tested on humans? And to find out if it works? It runs in my family...

[omiolo]

seems like serotonin inhibitors are the cure for everything......

I wonder though if this is more an indication of physiological and nerve induced stress than anything else.