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.

New study shows eggs are 14% lower in cholesterol

According to new nutrition data from the United States Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Research Service, eggs are lower in cholesterol than previously thought.

8 Feb 2011

Nutritional deficiencies among indigenous populations: two studies

They find iodine deficiency for the first time among an Aboriginal population in the NT. This deficiency was previously thought to occur only in the nation’s south-eastern states. The study involved nearly 400 teenagers of aboriginal origin living in remote as well as urban areas of the Darwin Health Region, which covers 120,000 km-square of the top end of the NT.

7 Feb 2011

Pediatric physicians present 12 research abstracts, posters at Cardiology 2011

Pediatric cardiology researchers and clinicians gather this week in Scottsdale, Ariz. for Cardiology 2011, the 15th Annual Update on Pediatric and Congenital Cardiovascular Disease, sponsored by The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. Original research from more than 30 cardiac programs in the U.S. and abroad is being presented throughout the meeting.

7 Feb 2011

Scientists unravel mystery about how new tumors in individuals with breast cancer take root

In a discovery that may lead to a new treatment for breast cancer that has spread to the bone, a Princeton University research team has unraveled a mystery about how these tumors take root.

4 Feb 2011

Rare new disease identified – calcium accumulates in blood vessels

A new rare disease has been identified. Louise Benge’s started having difficulty in walking when she was 25. She developed hardening and pain over her calves and hands. She worsened over the next 20 years. Her family physician in Mount Vernon, Ky., was at a loss, as were a vascular specialist, a hand specialist and a kidney specialist. Her two sisters and two brothers had the problem too, but no doctor could understand why.

3 Feb 2011

Longer life with osteoporosis therapy: Study

In a new breakthrough, Australian scientists have identified the “remarkable” life-extending properties of an osteoporosis treatment. The research is published in the Journal of Endocrinology and Metabolism on Thursday.

3 Feb 2011

Bisphosphonates help people with osteoporosis gain extra 5 years of life

Australian clinical researchers have noted an extraordinary and unexpected benefit of osteoporosis treatment - that people taking bisphosphonates are not only surviving well, better than people without osteoporosis, they appear to be gaining an extra five years of life. These findings are published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, now online.

3 Feb 2011

Researchers design nanoparticles that make blood clots visible to CT scanner

For almost two decades, cardiologists have searched for ways to see dangerous blood clots before they cause heart attacks. Now, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis report that they have designed nanoparticles that find clots and make them visible to a new kind of X-ray technology.

3 Feb 2011

Largazole appears to be an ideal blueprint for developing new drugs against bone diseases

One of Mother Nature's latest gifts to medical science is stirring excitement with the discovery that the substance - obtained from a coral-reef inhabiting cyanobacterium - appears to be an ideal blueprint for developing new drugs for serious fractures, osteoporosis, and other bone diseases.

3 Feb 2011

Baxter launches OLIMEL emulsion for parenteral nutrition

Baxter International today announced the launch of OLIMEL emulsion for infusion in Canada at the American Society of Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition's Clinical Nutrition Week.

From Baxter International Inc. 31 Jan 2011

Scientists discover new mechanism neurons use to fine-tune electrical output

Scientists in the Hotchkiss Brain Institute at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Calgary, have discovered a new mechanism that nerve cells (neurons) use to fine-tune their electrical output. The exciting discovery, published this week in the prestigious journal Nature Neuroscience, provides new insights about how the activity of the nervous system is regulated at the cellular level.

27 Jan 2011

Mylan enters settlement agreement with Pfizer for Caduet Tablets litigation

Mylan Inc. today announced that it has entered into a settlement agreement with Pfizer Inc. resolving litigation related to Caduet® Tablets, 2.5 mg/10, 2.5 mg/20 mg, 2.5 mg/40 mg, 5 mg/10 mg, 5 mg/20 mg, 5 mg/40 mg, 5 mg/80 mg, 10 mg/10 mg, 10 mg/20 mg, 10 mg/40 mg and 10 mg/80 mg, known generically as Amlodipine Besylate/Atorvastatin Calcium Tablets.

25 Jan 2011

Routine mammograms can show arterial calcium deposits in women with ESRD, CKD

Routine mammograms performed for breast cancer screening could serve another purpose as well: detecting calcifications in the blood vessels of patients with advanced kidney disease, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology.

21 Jan 2011

American Academy of Dermatology's position statement on vitamin D reflects IOM's findings

The American Academy of Dermatology (Academy) has updated its position statement on vitamin D based on the results of a review of the increasing body of scientific literature on this vitamin and its importance for optimal health recently conducted by the National Academy of Sciences Institute of Medicine (IOM).

20 Jan 2011

AACE releases new medical guidelines for diagnosis and treatment of postmenopausal osteoporosis

The American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists (AACE) has released new medical guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of postmenopausal osteoporosis. Loyola physician Pauline Camacho, MD, was part of a committee that developed the guidelines to manage this major public health issue.

20 Jan 2011

Soy protein lowers total cholesterol and non-HDL: New study

Soy protein's ability to lower total and LDL cholesterol has been extensively studied, but the mechanism whereby soy protein lowers cholesterol remains unresolved. A new study published in the Journal of Clinical Lipidology last month shows that soy protein lowers total cholesterol and non-HDL cholesterol significantly more than milk protein in patients with moderately high cholesterol levels.

18 Jan 2011

Organic milk best: Study

The latest research published by Newcastle University, UK has shown that organic milk contains less unhealthy fat, as well as a range of important healthy nutrients. It contains fewer chemicals and poses less risk for children to develop allergies and eczema. Organic milk is also rich in omega 3 fatty acids that re good for the heart. However it costs more. At least 60 per cent of the diet of organic cows has to be organically grown grass and its traditional derivatives — silage and hay.

18 Jan 2011

Positive results from Cook Medical's REFORM stent clinical trial for treatment of renal artery stenosis

Study investigators today reported initial data from Cook Medical's REFORM clinical trial that is aimed at assessing the safety and effectiveness of the company's balloon-expandable renal stent for the treatment of renal artery stenosis. The data, presented by Robert Bersin, M.D., at ISET 2011, reveal a nine-month primary patency rate of 89.5 percent and a 97 percent rate of successful delivery and deployment of the stent.

18 Jan 2011

75% of cell plasma membrane reversibly endocytosed

In three papers in the January and February issues of the Journal of General Physiology, Don Hilgemann and colleagues have extensively characterized a previously unidentified process by which up to 75% of the cell plasma membrane can be reversibly endocytosed.

18 Jan 2011

Antibiotics with blood pressure medications may cause hypotension

Mixing commonly used antibiotics with common blood pressure medications may cause hypotension and induce shock in older patients, requiring hospitalization, according to a study published in CMAJ.

18 Jan 2011