Bone News and Research

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Potential new way to prevent graft-versus-host disease

A new University of Michigan study in mice suggests that a drug recently approved to fight cancer tumors is also able to reduce the effects of graft-versus-host disease, a common and sometimes fatal complication for people who have had bone marrow transplants.

10 Jul 2008

Scientists identify 22 genes that control embryonic stem cell fate

Scientists have identified about two dozen genes that control embryonic stem cell fate. The genes may either prod or restrain stem cells from drifting into a kind of limbo, they suspect. The limbo lies between the embryonic stage and fully differentiated, or specialized, cells, such as bone, muscle or fat.

10 Jul 2008

Breakthrough findings point to targets for Ebola virus drugs and vaccines

Described in the July 10, 2008 issue of the journal Nature, the research reveals the shape of the Ebola virus spike protein, which is necessary for viral entry into human cells, bound to an immune system antibody acting to neutralize the virus. The structure provides a major step forward in understanding how the deadly virus works, and may be useful in the development of potential Ebola virus vaccines, or treatments for those infected.

10 Jul 2008

Rapid prototyping technology builds bones

Individual bone implants whose structure resembles that of the natural bone can now be produced quite easily. First, a simulation program calculates the bone's internal structure and porosity, then a rapid prototyping machine "bakes" the implant from metal powder.

8 Jul 2008

Discovery of new function for an old enzyme in sialidosis

The lack of a single protein usually thought of as a run-of-the-mill enzyme that helps to recycle molecules in cells causes an incurable and often fatal disease of children, according to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital investigators.

7 Jul 2008

Resveratrol mimics the beneficial effects of eating fewer calories

Large doses of a red wine ingredient can ward off many of the vagaries of aging in mice who begin taking it at midlife, according to a new report published online on July 3rd in Cell Metabolism, a Cell Press publication.

3 Jul 2008

Nanostructures improve bone response to titanium implants

Titanium implants were successfully introduced by P.-I. Branemark and co-workers in 1969 for the rehabilitation of edentulous jaws.

3 Jul 2008

Funding boost in fight against leukaemia

University of Manchester researchers have been awarded £1.6 million to study a group of genes identified as playing a key role in leukaemia.

From The University of Manchester 3 Jul 2008

Resveratrol improves health, but not longevity in aging mice

Scientists have found that the compound resveratrol slows age-related deterioration and functional decline of mice on a standard diet, but does not increase longevity when started at middle age.

3 Jul 2008

Controlling bone disease improves survival of hemodialysis patients

Consistently maintaining certain blood levels of markers of bone metabolism and disease can prolong the lives of patients on hemodialysis, according to a study appearing in the September 2008 issue of the Clinical Journal of the American Society Nephrology (CJASN).

3 Jul 2008

ETH Zurich and IBM improve diagnosis of osteoporosis

With the goal of developing an accurate, powerful and fast method to automate the ana-lysis of bone strength, scientists of the ETH Zurich Departments of Mechanical and Pro-cess Engineering and Computer Science teamed up with supercomputing experts at IBM's Zurich Research Laboratory. The breakthrough method developed by the team combines density measurements with a large-scale mechanical analysis of the inner-bone microstructure.

2 Jul 2008

GILZ protein may have big role in making more bone and less fat

A small protein may have a big role in helping you make more bone and less fat, researchers say. "The pathways are parallel, and the idea is if you can somehow disrupt the fat production pathway, you will get more bone," says Dr. Xingming Shi, bone biologist at the Medical College of Georgia Institute of Molecular Medicine and Genetics.

1 Jul 2008

New technique produces genetically identical stem cells

Adult cells of mice created from genetically reprogrammed cells-so-called induced pluripotent stem (IPS) stem cells-can be triggered via drug to enter an embryonic-stem-cell-like state, without the need for further genetic alteration.

1 Jul 2008

Scientists fortify the cassava plant - a day's nutrition in a single meal

Scientists have determined how to fortify the cassava plant, a staple root crop in many developing countries, with enough vitamins, minerals and protein to provide the poor and malnourished with a day's worth of nutrition in a single meal.

30 Jun 2008

Increasing number of severe bone infections, health complications in children linked to MRSA

The emergence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) as a major pathogen has led to more complications and longer hospital stays for children with acute bone infections, UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers report

30 Jun 2008

Can long-term use of Fosomax hinder bone healing?

There is new evidence linking risk for one kind of fracture with long-term use of bisphosphonates -- drugs like Fosamax that are prescribed to treat osteoporosis in older persons by increasing bone density in order to prevent fractures.

26 Jun 2008

Simple ultrasound exam may predict osteoporosis risk

An ultrasound exam of the heel may be able to predict if a woman is at heightened risk for fractures due to osteoporosis, according to a new multicenter study being published in the July issue of the journal Radiology.

24 Jun 2008

Lower blood levels of vitamin D linked to increased heart problems

Individuals with lower blood levels of vitamin D appear to have an increased risk of death overall and from cardiovascular causes, according to a report in the June 23 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine.

23 Jun 2008

Evidence for an increased cancer risk following the use of radioactive Radium-224 in the therapy for Ankylosing Spondylitis

In the course of an epidemiological study, scientists of the Institute of Radiation Biology of the Helmholtz Zentrum München - German Research Center for Environmental Health - have established an unfavourable benefit-risk-ratio for ankylosing spondylitis patients treated with Radium-224 therapy (Rheumatology 2008; 47: 855-59).

23 Jun 2008

New method for bone tissue engineering wins award

A new and better method for accelerating bone formation in cases of orthopedic injuries and conditions, such as osteoporosis, fractures and disc disorders, has been developed by Nadav Kimelman at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem's Faculty of Dental Medicine.

23 Jun 2008