The Saturday Evening Post » bone health

Strategies for Bone Health

Post Editors — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 05:00:09 +0000

I have osteoporosis. I eat broccoli, kale, and other calcium-rich foods. I also take calcium and magnesium supplements and pursue an active lifestyle. Current drug therapies don’t work for me. How does strontium citrate help build bones?

Urbana, Missouri

Strontium (STRON-tee-um) is a naturally occurring mineral that is closely related to calcium. At best, foods contain a minimal amount of the mineral, but different versions of strontium—used to improve bone health, unlike radioactive strontium, which treats bone cancer—are widely available online and in stores. In the U.S., strontium citrate is sold as a supplement, not a drug, which means data about its long-term safety and optimal dosage are lacking, and the purity of specific products is questionable. Still, evidence suggests that strontium preserves existing bones and helps build new bone tissue. Usually, strontium citrate is taken at bedtime, at least four hours after consuming calcium.

Prescription-strength strontium ranelate is available in Europe for treating osteoporosis. Osteologix, a biopharmaceutical company in Richmond, Virginia, is planning additional studies of its osteoporosis drug, NB S101 (strontium malonate). Assuming testing is successful, the prescription product could be FDA approved and available for use in the U.S. in early 2015.

Strategies for Bone Health The Saturday Evening Post

Healthy Bones for Life

Wendy Braun — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 14:00:53 +0000

Most of us will never compete in the Senior Olympics, but surprising research on those who do may change the ways we try to protect our bones for the future. According to Dr. Vanda Wright and her colleagues who tested the bone strength of 560 athletes ages 50 to 93 at the 2005 National Senior Games, running, jumping, and playing sports such as basketball and volleyball may lead to greater strides against bone loss than other types of exercise and taking calcium supplements alone.

“High-impact sports, while not for everyone, can play a significant part in healthy bone aging,” explained Dr. Wright, assistant professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. “Our study represents the largest sample of bone mineral density (BMD) data in mature athletes to date. We were surprised to see that active adult participation in high-impact sports had such a positive influence on bone health, even in the oldest athletes.”

To compete in the next Senior Olympics—tentatively scheduled for June 19-July 5, 2011, in Houston, Texas—athletes age 50+ on December 31, 2009, must qualify at local events that are held in 2010 and sanctioned by the National Senior Games Association. Click here for details about Summer and Winter State Senior Games.

Healthy Bones for Life The Saturday Evening Post

Osteoporosis: New Science, New Therapies

Wendy Braun — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 19:52:35 +0000

A decade of discovery about how osteoporosis occurs may soon lead to novel ways to treat and prevent the bone-robbing condition that affects roughly one in two women over the age of 50.

During the 1990s, scientists in Amgen’s genomic drug discovery program identified a previously unexplored protein found throughout the body’s skeleton. Further research showed that the RANK Ligand protein is a key regulator of cells called osteoclasts that break down bone.

Currently under FDA review, Amgen’s drug denosumab (dmab for short) inhibits the protein, blocking the formation of osteoclasts, and boosting bone density.

“We have a family of different kinds of drugs we can use for osteoporosis, but none of those drugs are perfect, and many of the patients who begin any one of the current therapies frequently discontinue it,” Dr. Ethel S. Siris, Director of the Toni Stabile Osteoporosis Center at Columbia University Medical Center, New York-Presbyterian Hospital, and a past President of the National Osteoporosis Foundation told the Post.

“I’m excited about denosumab’s potential to offer great benefit, given its robust reduction in fracture risk at all sites measured and its twice-yearly administration.”

Osteoporosis: New Science, New Therapies The Saturday Evening Post