Calcium News and Research

RSS

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.

CT scans that detect calcium deposits in heart arteries can help predict the risk of coronary heart disease

Even among relatively young and healthy men, CT scans that detect calcium deposits in heart arteries can help predict the risk of coronary heart disease, according to a new study in the Sept. 6, 2005, issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

5 Sep 2005

Nurse-led multidisciplinary programme can help coronary patients and their families to reduce their risk of major cardiovascular disease

Early results from the EuroAction hospital project, announced today at the European Society of Cardiology, demonstrate how a nurse-led multidisciplinary programme, organised in busy general hospitals, can help coronary patients and their families to reduce their risk of major cardiovascular disease (CVD).

5 Sep 2005

Virginia Tech engineer investigates enzyme link to Huntington's, Parkinson's, and Alzheimer diseases

Several neurologically based afflictions, such as Huntington's, Parkinson's, and Alzheimer diseases, have been correlated to a higher than normal presence of a specific type of enzymes, called transglutaminases (TGase) in the human body.

30 Aug 2005

Television advertising is packed with junk food

For young Americans, the "food landscape" in television advertising is packed with junk food, according to a new study.

25 Aug 2005

U.S. beverage industry praised for helping in childhood obesity battle

The American Beverage Association (ABA) has approved a policy aimed at limiting the sale of soft drinks in school vending machines as the nation fights obesity.

17 Aug 2005

Women who take oral contraceptives can counteract bone loss by increasing calcium in their daily diet

Women who take oral contraceptives can counteract bone loss by making sure they have enough calcium in their daily diet, especially early in life, according to Purdue University research.

17 Aug 2005

Calcium fights prostate cancer

Calcium, more familiar in its role as one of the building blocks of the body, is being enlisted as a tool in the fight against prostate cancer.

15 Aug 2005

How negatively charged lipids stick to negatively charged DNA and self-organize into structures

Scientists studying the structure and interaction of negatively charged lipids and DNA molecules have created a "cookbook" for a class of nontoxic DNA delivery systems that will assist doctors and clinicians in the safe and effective delivery of genetic medicine.

13 Aug 2005

Taking parathyroid hormone followed by a year on alendronate shows strong osteoporosis benefit

Postmenopausal women who took a bone-building drug for one year followed by a year on a standard drug that fights bone loss experienced greater increases in bone density than has been reported from any other drug regimen, an NIH-sponsored study has found. Bone density is the standard predictor of fracture risk associated with osteoporosis.

11 Aug 2005

Researchers discover that tumors secrete fatty acids which inhibit the cytotoxic T lymphocytes' ability to kill tumor cells

Researchers have discovered that tumors release fatty acids that interfere with the cells that are trying to kill them. Consequently, strategies that reduce the amount of fatty acids surrounding the tumors may give a boost to anti-cancer therapeutics.

11 Aug 2005

$Experts predict that bone fractures will become a bigger and more costly problem$

Experts predict that bone fractures will become a bigger and more costly problem

With an aging population, and with people living longer, experts say bone fractures will become a bigger and more costly problem unless more is done to prevent them.

9 Aug 2005

Beta-blockers top choice for prevention and rate control for postoperative atrial fibrillation

The American College of Chest Physicians (ACCP) has released the first evidence-based clinical practice guidelines for the prevention and management of postoperative atrial fibrillation (AF) after cardiac surgery.

9 Aug 2005

Scientists identify protein that may inhibit cellular movement

Scientists from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine and the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center have identified a protein that may inhibit cellular movement, or migration.

8 Aug 2005

Doubt cast over study that says milk linked to ovarian cancer

Swedish researchers say that drinking just one glass of milk a day may increase the risk of women developing ovarian cancer.

7 Aug 2005

New research into muscle contraction will give scientists a better understanding of bladder problems and pain during childbirth

Professor Susan Wray, who heads the UK's top rated Department of Physiology, and Dr. Ted Burdyga, are studying muscles in the wall of the ureter, which connects the kidney to the bladder, to understand how muscles respond to signals in the body telling them to contract or relax.

1 Aug 2005

Loyola researchers hope that zoledronic acid will be effective and safe for patients with inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD)

Researchers at the Osteoporosis and Metabolic Bone Disease Center and the Division of Gastroenterology at Loyola University Health System are studying a once-yearly, 15-minute infusion of an intravenous (IV) medication in patients with osteopenia (low bone mass) and inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) that, if proven effective, may be considered the standard of treatment.

26 Jul 2005

Vitamin D supplementation does not appear to prevent bone loss in postmenopausal black women

Although there is general agreement on the optimal calcium intake recommended for reducing postmenopausal bone loss, and it is recognized that vitamin D is important in calcium maintenance, the optimal intake of vitamin D is controversial, according to background information in the article.

25 Jul 2005

In vivo engineering of organs: The bone bioreactor

An international team of biomedical engineers has demonstrated for the first time that it is possible to grow healthy new bone reliably in one part of the body and use it to repair damaged bone at a different location.

25 Jul 2005

Calcium may help prevent the polyps, but not colorectal cancer

According to a new study, although calcium supplements may help prevent the polyps that often lead to colon cancer, it is still not clear whether calcium can prevent colorectal cancer itself.

21 Jul 2005

Researchers have doubled the potency of a protein that drives blood to clot

...according to research to be published in the July 26 edition of Biochemistry. The study results may have profound implications for the treatment of hemophilia, the inherited blood disorder that causes easy or excessive bleeding in 30,000 Americans.

20 Jul 2005