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.

High calcium intake may not prevent osteoporosis and related bone fractures

For years, getting a lot of calcium has been portrayed as one of the best things you could do to prevent osteoporosis and related bone fractures.

26 Feb 2008

2 oxygenation events in ancient oceans sparked spread of complex life

The rise of oxygen and the oxidation of deep oceans between 635 and 551 million years ago may have had an impact on the increase and spread of the earliest complex life, including animals, according to a study reported in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences online Early Edition during the week of February 25 – 29.

26 Feb 2008

Worm defecation holds clues to widespread cell-to-cell communication process

The focus of two recent Nobel prizes, a species of roundworm has made possible another advance in the understanding of how cells talk to one another, according to a study published online Feb. 21 in the journal Current Biology.

22 Feb 2008

Genetic defect causes immune deficiency and balance disorder

A genetic defect that causes a severe immune deficiency in humans may also produce balance disorders, according to a new study by researchers at the University of Iowa, The Jackson Laboratory and East Carolina University.

21 Feb 2008

Vitamin D isn't just for bones anymore

Researchers at The Rockefeller University Hospital have begun a clinical study to explore a possible connection between vitamin D deficiency and insulin resistance.

21 Feb 2008

Drinking milk may help women lower risk for hypertension

Women who drank more fat free milk and had higher intakes of calcium and vitamin D from foods, and not supplements, tended to have a lower risk for developing hypertension or high blood pressure, according to a new study published in the American Heart Association journal, Hypertension.

21 Feb 2008

Young women not getting enough folic acid

Despite the fact that folic acid can prevent some of the most common birth defects, young women aren't getting enough of it.

18 Feb 2008

Scorpion venom may hold key to controlling cystic fibrosis

Researchers have discovered a peptide in scorpion venom that may hold the key to understanding and controlling cystic fibrosis and other secretory diseases.

17 Feb 2008

Heart-healthy diet may also be good for the prostate

Men who eat a diet low in fat and red meat but high in vegetables and lean protein and who drink alcohol in moderation may not just be doing their hearts a favor.

14 Feb 2008

Bacterial toxin closes gate on immune response

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have demonstrated that a bacterial toxin from the common bacterium Staphylococcus aureus shuts down the control mechanism of the tunnel, called an ion channel, in immune cell membranes.

14 Feb 2008

Why so many children are on the road to heart disease

We teach our children how to walk, talk and go to the bathroom, but do we teach them how to eat right?

13 Feb 2008

What do marathoners and heart failure patients have in common?

The new study shows that the fatigue that marathoners and other extreme athletes feel at the end of a race is caused by a tiny leak inside their muscles that probably also saps the energy from patients with heart failure.

12 Feb 2008

Most hypertension patients ignore recommended diet

A relatively small proportion of individuals with hypertension (high blood pressure) eat diets that align with government guidelines for controlling the disease, according to a report in the February 11 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

12 Feb 2008

Calcium channel blockers cut risk of Parkinson's disease

People taking a widely used group of drugs known as calcium channel blockers to treat high blood pressure also appear to be cutting their risk of Parkinson's disease, according to a study published in the February 6, 2008, online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

7 Feb 2008

Vitamin D for cancer

It sounds too good to be true … a little inexpensive pill that could block the development of some cancers, strengthen bones, prevent multiple sclerosis and alleviate winter depression.

7 Feb 2008

Ascal (calcium carbasalate) not safer than aspirin

Changing prescription of low-dose aspirin into calcium carbasalate (brand name: Ascal) to prevent peptic ulcerations is not useful. Peptic ulcers are evenly distributed among users of calcium carbasalate and aspirin, for secondary prevention of myocardial infarction.

5 Feb 2008

Dairy-free diets may put boys with autism at risk for thin bones

Results of an early study suggest that dairy-free diets and unconventional food preferences could put boys with autism and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) at higher than normal risk for thinner, less dense bones when compared to a group of boys the same age who do not have autism.

29 Jan 2008

Evidence strongly supports diuretics as initial metabolic syndrome therapy, especially in black patients

New research shows that in people with high blood pressure as part of metabolic syndrome, a cluster of conditions that increases the risk for heart disease, diuretics offer greater protection against cardiovascular disease, including heart failure, and are at least as effective for lowering blood pressure as newer, more expensive medications.

28 Jan 2008

One third of stunting and a quarter of deaths among under 3s in poor countries could be prevented

If existing maternal and child nutrition interventions were implemented in poor countries, cases of stunting among under 3s could be reduced by a third, and deaths by up to a quarter, according to new research being published today.

24 Jan 2008

Gene variations associated with effectiveness of blood pressure medications

Patients with hypertension and certain gene variations experienced varying results with some blood pressure medications, suggesting matching a patient's genotype with certain hypertension medications could result in more favorable outcomes, according to a study in the January 23 issue of JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association.

23 Jan 2008