Calcium News and Research

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Calcium, the most abundant mineral in the body, is found in some foods, added to others, available as a dietary supplement, and present in some medicines (such as antacids). Calcium is required for muscle contraction, blood vessel expansion and contraction, secretion of hormones and enzymes, and transmitting impulses throughout the nervous system. The body strives to maintain constant concentrations of calcium in blood, muscle, and intercellular fluids, though less than <1% of total body calcium is needed to support these functions.

The remaining 99% of the body's calcium supply is stored in the bones and teeth where it supports their structure. Bone itself undergoes continuous remodeling, with constant resorption and deposition of calcium into new bone. The balance between bone resorption and deposition changes with age. Bone formation exceeds resorption in growing children, whereas in early and middle adulthood both processes are relatively equal. In aging adults, particularly among postmenopausal women, bone breakdown exceeds formation, resulting in bone loss that increases the risk of osteoporosis over time.

Calcium intake contributing factor in formation of kidney stones

Individuals with either calcium oxalate or calcium phosphate kidney stones should not take extra calcium on their own as suggested by previous research, but should check with their doctors to determine the dietary guidelines that work best for them, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas have found.

4 Jan 2005

Low-dose diuretic therapy for most patients with hypertension recommended

Patients with high blood pressure who take calcium channel blockers and diuretics have an increased risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD) death compared to patients who take beta-blockers plus diuretics, according to a study in the current issue of JAMA.

16 Dec 2004

Millennium Pharmaceuticals discovers protein biomarkers that could play a role in the early detection of rheumatoid arthritis

Researchers at Millennium Pharmaceuticals today announced the discovery of a panel of protein biomarkers that could play a role in the early detection, prognosis and monitoring of rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

14 Dec 2004

Link found between bisphosphonates and a serious bone disease called osteonecrosis of the jaw

Doctors at Long Island Jewish (LIJ) Medical Center recently discovered a link between a common chemotherapy drug and a serious bone disease called osteonecrosis of the jaw (ONJ).

13 Dec 2004

FDA accepts Genmab's Investigational New Drug Application for active rheumatoid arthritis treatment

Genmab announced today the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) accepted its Investigational New Drug Application (IND) to start a Phase I/II dose escalation trial for HuMax-CD20 to treat patients with active rheumatoid arthritis (RA) who have failed one treatment with one or more disease modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs).

13 Dec 2004

Silent risk of osteoporosis in men with prostate cancer

Men being treated for prostate cancer using hormone therapy maybe under-recognized for their risk of developing osteoporosis, according to a new study.

13 Dec 2004

Excellent news for the many people who suffer from high blood pressure

An international trial comparing blood-pressure lowering treatments has been stopped early due to the significantly better performance of one of the treatments in the trial.

8 Dec 2004

Human parathyroid gland most likely evolved from the gills of fish

The human parathyroid gland, which regulates the level of calcium in the blood, probably evolved from the gills of fish, according to researchers from King's College London.

6 Dec 2004

New and revealing portrait of Yersinia pestis emerges

Yersinia pestis, the causative agent of the “Black Death” or “Bubonic” plague, has been a scourge of human civilization. One of the most virulent bacterial pathogens known, killing nearly 90% of those infected, Y. pestis was responsible for three historic pandemics that shattered whole societies.

4 Dec 2004

Heart researchers have used gene therapy to bring failing rat hearts back to normal

Scientists led by Walter Koch, Ph.D., director of the Center for Translational Medicine in the Department of Medicine in Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, used a virus to insert the gene for a protein called S100A1 into failing rat hearts.

4 Dec 2004

AstraZeneca reconfirms the safety of Crestor

In the case of Crestor (rosuvastatin calcium), the application for approval was the most extensive ever for a statin involving more than 12,000 patients, and was unanimously recommended for approval by the FDA's advisory board in July of 2003.

20 Nov 2004

Startling new blood pressure findings - atherosclerosis slowed

A new study led by The Cleveland Clinic shows that giving blood pressure lowering medication to heart disease patients with a “normal” blood pressure dramatically reduces risk of adverse cardiac events and slows disease progression.

16 Nov 2004

Calcium channel blocker reduces adverse cardiovascular events

The calcium channel blocker amlodipine decreases the risk of cardiovascular events (such as heart attack or heart-disease related deaths) in patients with coronary artery disease and normal blood pressure, as does the ACE inhibitor enalapril, but to a lesser extent, according to a study in the November 10 issue of JAMA.

10 Nov 2004