Osteoporosis Treatment That Could Cure

(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Treatment that slows the production of serotonin in the gut holds promise for an osteoporosis cure.

Known before as primarily a neurotransmitter in the brain, researchers have discovered serotonin released by the gut slows the formation of bone. In fact, 95 percent of the body's supply of serotonin is now known to reside in the gut -- the remaining 5 percent, in the brain.

In a previous study, researchers turned off the intestine's release of serotonin in mice and found it cured osteoporosis in mice that had gone through menopause.

Now, the team has found administering a compound called LP533401 orally once daily for up to six weeks both prevented the development of post-menopausal osteoporosis and cured it in affected mice. The compound did not affect serotonin levels in the brain.

"New therapies that inhibit the production of serotonin in the gut have the potential to become a novel class of drugs to be added to the therapeutic arsenal against osteoporosis," Gerard Karsenty, M.D., Ph.D., chair of the Department of Genetics and Development at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons and lead author of the study, was quoted as saying. "With tens of millions of people worldwide affected by this devastating and debilitating bone loss, there is an urgent need for new treatments that not only stop bone loss, but also build new bone. Using these findings, we are working hard to develop this type of treatment for human patients."

Currently, most osteoporosis drugs prevent the breakdown of old bone. The only drug that can generate new bone is taken by injection once daily and may increase the risk of bone cancer.

Source: Nature Medicine, February 7, 2010

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