Controlling bone formation to prevent osteoporosis
Tuesday, September 28, 2010 - 08:35
in Health & Medicine
Ageing disrupts the balance between bone formation and bone destruction, resulting in osteoporosis, which is characterised by reduced bone mass and increased risk of fracture. Recent data have suggested that this imbalance is a result of a decrease in formation of bone forming osteoblast cells from mesenchymal cells upon ageing. Instead, these cells form more fat cells. Insight into this age-related switch in cell type generation has now been provided by a team of researchers, led by Hiroshi Takayanagi, at Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Japan, working in mice. The data generated might provide new avenues of research for those developing approaches to treat age-related osteoporosis...