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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.
OPKO reports more than 50% enrollment in phase 3 trial of Rayaldy for treatment of secondary hyperparathyroidism

OPKO reports more than 50% enrollment in phase 3 trial of Rayaldy for treatment of secondary hyperparathyroidism

OPKO Health, Inc., has surpassed 50% enrollment in the first phase 3 trial of RayaldyTM to treat patients with secondary hyperparathyroidism (SHPT), stage 3 or 4 chronic kidney disease (CKD) and vitamin D insufficiency. [More]

Study: Calcium supplements can help women live longer

Taking a calcium supplement of up to 1,000 mg per day can help women live longer, according to a study whose lead author was Lisa Langsetmo, a Ph.D. Research Associate at McGill University, and whose senior author was Prof. David Goltzman, Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism in the Department of Medicine of the Faculty of Medicine and researcher in the Musculoskeletal Disorders axis at the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (RI-MUHC). [More]
Johns Hopkins researchers find possible trigger of rheumatoid arthritis

Johns Hopkins researchers find possible trigger of rheumatoid arthritis

In a series of lab experiments designed to unravel the workings of a key enzyme widely considered a possible trigger of rheumatoid arthritis, researchers at Johns Hopkins have found that in the most severe cases of the disease, the immune system makes a unique subset of antibodies that have a disease-promoting role. [More]
Making gold nanoparticles more effective against ovarian cancer cells

Making gold nanoparticles more effective against ovarian cancer cells

Positively charged gold nanoparticles are usually toxic to cells, but cancer cells somehow manage to avoid nanoparticle toxicity. Mayo Clinic researchers found out why and determined how to make the nanoparticles effective against ovarian cancer cells. [More]

Study: 3/4 women experience constipation and other bowel disorders during their pregnancies

Nearly three out of four pregnant women experience constipation, diarrhea or other bowel disorders during their pregnancies, a Loyola University Medical Center study has found. [More]
RIKEN researchers visualize memory formation for first time in zebrafish

RIKEN researchers visualize memory formation for first time in zebrafish

In our interaction with our environment we constantly refer to past experiences stored as memories to guide behavioral decisions. But how memories are formed, stored and then retrieved to assist decision-making remains a mystery. [More]
Bayer HealthCare to present new data on oncology portfolio at ASCO meeting

Bayer HealthCare to present new data on oncology portfolio at ASCO meeting

Bayer HealthCare announced today that new data on the oncology portfolio, including Nexavar (sorafenib) tablets, Stivarga (regorafenib) tablets and the recently U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved product Xofigo (radium Ra 223 dichloride) injection will be presented at the 49th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, May 31 – June 4, in Chicago, IL (USA). [More]

FDA approves Arbor Pharmaceuticals' NDA for Nymalize oral solution

Arbor Pharmaceuticals announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved its New Drug Application for Nymalize (nimodipine) oral solution. [More]
Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics encourages people to learn about celiac disease

Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics encourages people to learn about celiac disease

Celiac disease is estimated to affect one out of 141 of Americans, or just under 1 percent of the population. [More]
Study shows magnesium intake, absorption associated with bone density in children

Study shows magnesium intake, absorption associated with bone density in children

Parents are advised to make sure their children drink milk and eat other calcium-rich foods to build strong bones. [More]
EPAC2 and diabetes: an interview with Dr. Hussain, Johns Hopkins University

EPAC2 and diabetes: an interview with Dr. Hussain, Johns Hopkins University

EPAC stands for exchange protein activated by cyclic AMP (cAMP). cAMP is an (among many) intracellular messenger molecule. cAMP is generated when certain hormones stimulate a cell by binding to their receptor, which is at the outside surface of the cell. [More]

Increased accumulation of coronary artery calcium leads to heart attack risk

Patients with increasing accumulations of coronary artery calcium were more than six times more likely to suffer from a heart attack or die from heart disease than patients who didn't have increasing accumulations, according to a recent study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. [More]
Research: Protein complex in human breast milk can help reverse antibiotic resistance

Research: Protein complex in human breast milk can help reverse antibiotic resistance

A protein complex found in human breast milk can help reverse the antibiotic resistance of bacterial species that cause dangerous pneumonia and staph infections, according to new University at Buffalo research. [More]
Researchers identify genetic mutation linked to a typical form of migraine

Researchers identify genetic mutation linked to a typical form of migraine

A research team led by a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator at the University of California, San Francisco has identified a genetic mutation that is strongly associated with a typical form of migraine. [More]

New methods to evaluate how astrocytes contribute to brain function

A study in The Journal of General Physiology presents new methods to evaluate how astrocytes contribute to brain function, paving the way for future exploration of these important brain cells at unprecedented levels of detail. [More]
Hypertensive patients may need firm dietary advice

Hypertensive patients may need firm dietary advice

People who have dyslipidemia or are overweight adopt healthier diets than those without, whereas patients with hypertension persist with some unhealthy eating patterns, study results show. [More]
Calcipotriol drug offers a potential treatment option for fibrotic diseases

Calcipotriol drug offers a potential treatment option for fibrotic diseases

Liver fibrosis results from an excessive accumulation of tough, fibrous scar tissue and occurs in most types of chronic liver diseases. In industrialized countries, the main causes of liver injury leading to fibrosis include chronic hepatitis virus infection, excess alcohol consumption and, increasingly, nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). [More]
Convergence starts Phase II proof of concept study with CNV2197944 in pain associated with PHN

Convergence starts Phase II proof of concept study with CNV2197944 in pain associated with PHN

Convergence Pharmaceuticals Limited, the company focused on the development of novel and high value analgesic medicines for the treatment of chronic pain, today announces that it has started a Phase II proof of concept study with CNV2197944 in pain associated with post-herpetic neuralgia. [More]
Study identifies malaria parasite protein as potential new target for drug treatment to prevent malaria

Study identifies malaria parasite protein as potential new target for drug treatment to prevent malaria

Scientists have discovered how a protein within the malaria parasite is essential to its survival as it develops inside a mosquito. They believe their findings identify this protein as a potential new target for drug treatments to prevent malaria being passed to humans. [More]
Researchers explore new technique to determine the activity of different calcium channels in cancer cells

Researchers explore new technique to determine the activity of different calcium channels in cancer cells

Two Wayne State University researchers are working on a technique that could lead to easier, faster identification of cancer tumors that can be effectively treated by calcium channel-based therapies. [More]