TGF Discovery May Help Treat Brittle Bone Disease

Brittle bone disease is a congenital disorder that results in fragile bones that break easily.   A new study in Nature Medicine showed that excessive activity of an important signaling protein in the matrix of the bone called transforming growth factor beta is associated with the cause of the disease. It suggests that there may be common mechanisms that cause the decreased quality and quantity of bone in these different forms.  "There are many genetic causes of brittle bone disease in children and adults," said Dr. Brendan Lee, professor of molecular and human genetics at Baylor and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator. "We have discovered many of them but clinicians still cannot easily distinguish the different forms.  read more

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