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.

Important breakthrough in developing the drugs of the future

Their work on targeting individual genes for more effective and cheaper drug testing opens the way to treatments for a huge range of diseases including diabetes and atherosclerosis, which leads to strokes and heart attacks.

3 Nov 2005

Spire Corporation awarded grant to develop nanophase calcium phosphate coatings

Spire Corporation has announced that it has been awarded an SBIR Phase I grant for $156,878 from the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, National Institutes of Health (NIH), to develop nanophase calcium phosphate coatings loaded with bone morphogenic proteins (BMPs).

27 Oct 2005

Molecule P-glycoprotein (Pgp), may help reduce risk of Alzheimer's

A molecule that has long been an obstacle to cancer chemotherapy and drug treatments for brain disorders may soon become an ally in the fight against Alzheimer's disease, according to researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and the University of Rochester.

20 Oct 2005

Protein involved in 'mad cow' disease

The journal Brain Research has recently published the results of research work by scientists from the University of Navarra.

18 Oct 2005

More doubt cast on benefit of beta blockers for high blood pressure

A comprehensive study has produced more evidence that a drug widely used to treat high blood pressure may not be the best option for many patients.

18 Oct 2005

$Older men with Parkinson's disease at increased risk of bone fractures$

Older men with Parkinson's disease at increased risk of bone fractures

Researchers found that Parkinson’s disease (PD) in older men is associated with lower bone mineral density and suggested that physicians should consider screening older male patients with PD for osteoporosis.

12 Oct 2005

Researchers find gene that is important for the control of fundamental rhythms in nematode worms

University of Utah biologists found a gene that controls rhythmic events in a worm's life: swallowing food, laying eggs and pooping.

9 Oct 2005

Divalent metal transporter-1 decreases metal-related injury in the lung

Multi-vitamin products, nutritional supplements and parents tout the need for such mineral elements as calcium, zinc, phosphorus, iron and others.

4 Oct 2005

Governments considering reclassifying some drugs from prescription to over-the-counter status

Governments in several countries with public Pharmacare and in a few provinces in Canada are considering reclassifying some drugs from prescription to over-the-counter status. In a Canadian Medical Association Journal essay, Lynd and colleagues comment on the economic effects of such changes.

27 Sep 2005

Pulsing heart cell provides clues into how heart disease develops

A pulsing heart cell is giving Oregon Health & Science University researchers insight into how it sends and receives signals, and that's providing clues into how heart disease and other disorders develop.

27 Sep 2005

Scientists identifiy new type of pain-sensing neuron in rats

We all know that if you put your hand over an open flame it's very painful. What you may not know is that, for some people, just lying under a blanket is painful as well. They have neuropathic pain--annoying, chronic pain that comes from a diseased nerve cell rather than a specific stimulus. Feeling phantom pain in a missing limb is another, more famous, example.

26 Sep 2005

85 percent of postmenopausal women do not get enough calcium

An analysis presented today at the 27th Annual Meeting of The American Society for Bone and Mineral Research found that 85 percent of postmenopausal women do not get enough calcium on a daily basis.

26 Sep 2005

Innovative new treatment for moderate to severe heart failure

Cardiologists at Beth Israel Medical Center are currently enrolling patients in an investigational study that is looking at the safety and efficacy of an innovative new treatment for moderate to severe heart failure, in which a unique pacemaker-like device helps strengthen the heart's pumping power

26 Sep 2005

Surprising immune system cells discovery

Immune system cells are connected to each other by an extensive network of tiny tunnels that, like a building's hidden pneumatic tube system, are used to shoot signals to distant cells.

26 Sep 2005

Researchers map genetic location that explains why certain blood pressure-lowering drugs aren't effective for some people

"The findings bring us a step closer to developing targeted therapies for patients with high blood pressure who might otherwise be started on medications that won't help," said lead author Sandosh Padmanabhan, Ph.D.

26 Sep 2005

Daylight savings changes may help extend the life and health of people's teeth and bones

Beginning in 2007, daylight savings time will be extended by almost a month. This additional amount of daylight may also help extend the life and health of people's teeth and bones. That's because vitamin D, also known as the "sunshine vitamin," is made by the body through casual and minimal sun exposure.

26 Sep 2005

Discovery that protein CD38 interrupts an interaction between the AIDS virus and its point of entry into cells

Cornell University researchers have discovered the 3-D crystal structure of a protein, human CD38, which may lead to important discoveries about how cells release calcium - a mineral used in almost every cellular process.

19 Sep 2005

Nitric oxide could one day help women in their 30s and 40s remain fertile longer

Researchers have found that an important chemical compound, nitric oxide, appears to slow or reverse the aging of eggs in mouse ovaries. The finding suggests nitric oxide could one day help women in their 30s and 40s remain fertile longer and increase their chances of having healthy babies, the scientists say.

7 Sep 2005

New ways to enhance or block fertilization

Researchers have capitalized on the unique properties of a sperm cell to follow cell membrane fusion as it occurs during fertilization, tracking the full cascade of events for the first time. The findings could reveal new ways to enhance or block fertilization, as well as how to control the secretion of neurotransmitters and hormones such as insulin.

6 Sep 2005

Strokes and heart attacks can be prevented in people with high blood pressure

Most strokes and heart attacks in people with high blood pressure can be abolished by simply combining effective, modern blood pressure lowering drugs with treatment to reduce cholesterol.

6 Sep 2005