Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/5T2aHV2jLqQ

 

Loss of bone calcium and structural integrity is a scourge of aging that particularly affects women.  The common treatment stops bone dissolution with bisphosphonate drugs like Fosamax or Actonel.  The more direct approach is the stimulation of bone formation which usually requires repeated injections of parathyroid hormone.  Now endocrinologists at Harvard’s Mass. General Hospital have identified a small molecule SK-124 that, when administered orally, has parathyroid hormone-like effects including raising blood levels of calcium and vitamin D leading to new bone formation.  SK-124 works in mice and will be developed into a drug for humans in collaboration with the Radius Health pharmaceutical company.

 

https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2214396119

 

#osteoporosis  #parathyroidhormone #bisphosphonates #osteoclasts