Bone Abstracts

Odanacatib (ODN) is an orally-active cathepsin K inhibitor being developed for the treatment of postmenopausal osteoporosis. This study evaluated the effects of ODN 50mg once weekly on BMD, bone turnover markers and safety in patients previously treated with alendronate (ALN).This was a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, 24-month study. The primary endpoint was % change from baseline at month 24 of femoral neck (FN) BMD. Postmenopausal women (...

The childhood is an important period for bone mass acquisition, and this tissue may be influenced by the nutritional status. However, the relation between the nutritional status and the bone parameters of quantitative ultrasound (QUS) remains unclear. The aim of this study was to verify the influence of nutritional status on bone mass assessed by QUS in male children from 7 to 10 years old. The sample consisted of 461 Brazilians pre-pubertal schoolchildren (8.30±1.13 year...

Odanacatib (ODN), a selective oral inhibitor of cathepsin K, is in development for the treatment of osteoporosis. In the Phase 3, Long-Term ODN Fracture Trial (LOFT; NCT00529373), ODN significantly reduced fracture risk. This imaging sub-study primarily investigated the effect of ODN on volumetric BMD (vBMD) of the lumbar spine (LS) and total hip (TH) using quantitative computed tomography (QCT).Women aged ≥65 without baseline radiographic vertebra...

Osteoclast presents a central role in several inflammatory diseases that are associated to bone destruction. This condition results from increased osteoclastic bone resorption and/or decreased bone formation. Fluoride (F) is widely consumed in the drinking water due to its anticariogenic effect and has been shown to modulate in vivo bone metabolism in a strain-specific dependent manner. It enhances bone formation in 129P3/J mice but not in A/J mice. However, its effec...

Pradaxa (dabigatran etexilate) is a new anticoagulant, which recently has been approved for clinical use. Dabigatran etexilate (DE) is a direct thrombin inhibitor, which in addition to its effect on blood clotting, may have an anabolic effect on bone. Recently, it has been reported that DE could significantly reduce bone resorption and enhance bone formation resulting in a significant and substantial increase in trabecular bone mass in mice.The aim of th...

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Bone tissue engineering relies on the combination of scaffolds and cells aiming to heal bone defects. Among the many candidates for scaffolds, gelatin sponge (Gelfoam®) and fibrin glue (Tissucol®) are of interest due to the well-established biocompatibility and the ability to be loaded with cells. Here, we evaluated their potential to stimulate bone formation by microtomography analysis. For this, 5-mm unilateral calvarial defect was created in rats deeply anesthetiz...

Adult mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are of interest in the fields of cell therapy and tissue engineering thanks to their potential of differentiating into distinct cell lineages, e.g. osteoblast, chondrocyte, myoblast, and adipocyte. As the capacity of differentiation may vary according to the cell source, here, we compared the potential of osteoblast differentiation of MSCs derived from either bone marrow or adipose tissue. MSCs from rat bone marrow and adipose tissue were cu...

The healing of bone fractures is a tightly regulated process where released growth factors and cytokines interplay within an inflammatory environment in order to reestablish the functional bone. Recent studies have suggested that endothelial cells may dedifferentiate into mesenchymal multipotent cells via a mechanism called endothelial-to-mesenchymal-transition (EndoMT). Transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) plays a critical role inducing EndoMT. Subsequent differenti...

Osteoclasts are produced by fusion of pre-osteoclasts derived from stem cells of the monocyte/macrophage lineage in the presence of receptor activator of NF-κB ligand (RANKL) produced by osteoblasts. The phytoestrogens; genistein and daidzein, which are isoflavones found in Leguminosae such as soybeans, are currently being investigated for prevention of postmenopausal osteoporosis. Some polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) have been shown to exert a bone protectiv...