Beware of Osteoporosis Medication that Inhibits Breakdown of Bone | Columbia University Medical Center

Breakdown of Bone Keeps Blood Sugar in Check, New Study Finds

http://www.cumc.columbia.edu/news/breakdown-bone-keeps-blood-sugar-check-new-study-finds

 

Research May Lead to Better Drugs for Type 2 Diabetes

July 22, 2010

NEW YORK (July 22, 2010) – Researchers led by Columbia University Medical Center have discovered that the skeleton plays an important role in regulating blood sugar and have further illuminated how bone controls this process. The finding, published in Cell, is important because it may lead to more targeted drugs for type 2 diabetes.
Led by Gerard Karsenty, MD, PhD, chair of the Department of Genetics and Development at Columbia University Medical Center, the researchers found that the destruction of old bone during normal skeletal regrowth – a process known as resorption – is necessary to maintain a healthy level of glucose in the blood.
While resorption is a process that occurs throughout life to make way for new bone, Dr. Karsenty’s team discovered that it also acts to stimulate the release of insulin into the bloodstream and improve the uptake of glucose by cells in the entire body.
The findings suggest that, for some people, diabetes may develop from changes in the skeleton, and that drugs designed to stimulate the bone-insulin pathway may lead to better drugs for type 2 diabetes.
The first clue that the skeleton may have an important role in regulating blood glucose came in 2007 when Dr. Karsenty discovered that a hormone released by bone – known as osteocalcin – can regulate glucose levels. Osteocalcin turns on the production of insulin in the pancreas and improves the ability of other cells to take in glucose. Both of these processes are impaired in type 2 diabetes.
The new paper reveals that osteocalcin cannot work until cells that degrade bone start working and begin the resorption process. As the cells degrade bone, inactive osteocalcin is converted to its active form by the increase in acidity around the bone.
“Remarkably, insulin was discovered to favor bone resorption. Hence, in a feed-forward loop it favors the activation of osteocalcin, which in turn favors insulin synthesis and secretion,” said Dr. Karsenty. “Insulin is a street-smart molecule that takes advantage of the functional interplay between bone resorption and osteocalcin, to turn-on the secretion and synthesis of more insulin.”
By identifying the tight connection existing between energy metabolism and skeleton physiology – in this case between insulin and osteocalcin – this new study further underscores the wealth of physiological function exerted by the skeleton. The finding further strengthens the idea that diabetes could be treated by increasing the level of osteocalcin in the body.  In addition, the researchers suggested that since most drugs to treat another condition – osteoporosis – work by inhibiting bone resorption, the drugs may decrease the activation of osteocalcin and cause glucose intolerance in some patients.

Insulin signaling in bone favors whole-body glucose homeostasis by activating osteocalcin. (1) Insulin signals osteoblasts, bone cells responsible for bone formation, which (2) tell osteoclasts, bone cells responsible for resorption, to destroy old bone. Next (3), the acidic (low pH) conditions created by the osteoclasts activates osteocalcin inside the bone. Finally (4), the active osteocalcin released from bone travels to the pancreas and stimulates the release of more insulin. © Image provided by Columbia University Medical Center.

“This research has important implications for both diabetes and osteoporosis patients,” said Dr. Karsenty. “First, this research shows that osteocalcin is involved in diabetes onset; secondly, bone may become a new target in the treatment of type 2 diabetes, the most frequent form of diabetes, as it appears to contribute strongly to glucose intolerance; and, finally, osteocalcin could become a treatment for type 2 diabetes.”
“And for people with osteoporosis, the concern is that a common treatment, bisphosphonates – which work by inhibiting bone resorption and therefore may increase glucose intolerance, could push someone with borderline glucose intolerance into full-fledged disease onset. Although, more research is needed to study this further,” said Dr. Karsenty.

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This work was supported by a fellowship from the Fond de la recherche en santé du Québec (M.F.) and grants from the National Institutes of Health (G.K.) and the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (P.D.).
Authors of the paper are: Mathieu Ferron¹,⁵, Jianwen Wei¹,⁵, Tatsuya Yoshizawa¹,⁵, Andrea Del Fattore², Ronald A. DePinho³, Anna Teti², Patricia Ducy⁴ and Gerard Karsenty¹*
Affiliations: ¹Department of Genetics & Development, and ⁴Department of Pathology and Cell Biology, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, USA; ²Department of Experimental Medicine, University of L’Aquila, L’Aquila, Italy; ³Department of Medicine and Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA; ⁵These authors contributed equally and were placed in alphabetical order.
Columbia University Medical Center provides international leadership in basic, pre-clinical and clinical research, in medical and health sciences education, and in patient care. The medical center trains future leaders and includes the dedicated work of many physicians, scientists, public health professionals, dentists, and nurses at the College of Physicians and Surgeons, the Mailman School of Public Health, the College of Dental Medicine, the School of Nursing, the biomedical departments of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, and allied research centers and institutions. Established in 1767, Columbia’s College of Physicians and Surgeons was the first institution in the country to grant the M.D. degree and is now among the most selective medical schools in the country. Columbia University Medical Center is home to the most comprehensive medical research enterprise in New York City and State and one of the largest in the United States. Columbia University Medical Center is affiliated with NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, the nation’s largest not-for-profit, non-sectarian hospital provider. For more information, please visit www.cumc.columbia.edu.

Those amazing bones

Muscles and bones contribute to our overall well being in many different ways. They are important to our physical protection, our survival, our beauty, and our immune systems. We often forget about our bones, relegating them to the limited care of calcium and vitamin D supplements.. When in reality they are living organs that provides us with life. Red and white blood cells are made in the bones along with the immune cells phagocytes. Bones regulate how much calcium is in the blood stream and calcium is needed in the blood for many metabolic functions. So if bones not only give us shape, but also play a role in metabolism and immunity, we should learn to take good care of them. Taking care of the bones does start with adequate calcium intake however, I am leery of the store bought supplements. Because a proper balance of enzymes and vitamins, are required for calcium absorption I recommend getting calcium through raw vegetarian sources in the diet and whole food supplements. Vitamin D is still being studied extensively and the US RDA keeps creeping up but we do know that it helps with calcium absorption and may play a part in preventing several other diseases. So my recommendation is 15 minutes outside and 600IU everyday. Keeping the bones strong also means we need to do some weight training. Moderate resistance training 3 times a week will improve the amount of calcium being deposited into the bone. Limited caffeine and alcohol consumption will help increase calcium absorption as well as lowering emotional stress levels. Lowering emotional stress is important because we know that when we chronically stress our body in any way our body releases cortisol which sets up hyper nutrient metabolism and tells the cells not to bother storing nutrients for later.

Our muscles are not only there to help us move and make us look good and they are not independent of the bones. Muscles are the communicators between the bones and the nervous system. Studies have shown that in induced muscle paralysis there is rapid degradation of bone. The papers indicate that even very minor localized muscular deficits can have dramatic effects on bone re-absorption. Muscle derived cells contribute directly to bone healing. So if we are going to take care of our bones we need to take care of our muscles. Taking care of our muscles means we need to eat plenty of proteins and polyunsaturated fats, take essential fatty acid supplements, and do some strength training 3 times a week. Really, a well balanced diet of whole foods, some supplements, and moderate exercise will help to keep our bones and muscles working well. They are much less demanding than our digestive or endocrine systems yet essential to living well.

Since everything is connected to everything these recommendations will undoubtedly have other benefits to the body and provide little to no interference.

Dr. Hyman on the dangers of our drug system

If your taking Zetia this is a must read!

The Dangers of the Medical Industrial Complex
YOUR DOCTORS THINK they make decisions based on medical evidence. But they don't!
In fact, half of medical evidence is hidden from your doctors. And the half that's hidden is the half that shows drugs don't work.
The bad news is that drug companies are not policed by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) the way they should be. A drug should be proven both effective and safe BEFORE it is prescribed to millions of people. Sadly, that often isn't the case.
Let me share with you two recent examples that highlight the dangerous collusion between drug companies and our government agency. They show why the FDA should really stand for "Federal Drug Aid."
First, we now know that the cholesterol-lowering drug Zetia actually causes harm and leads to faster progression of heart disease DESPITE lowering cholesterol 58 percent when combined with Zocor.
This challenges the belief that high cholesterol causes heart attacks and shakes the $40 billion dollar cholesterol drug industry at its foundation.
Second, it's come to light that nearly all the negative studies on antidepressants - that's more than half of all studies on these drugs - were never published, giving a false sense of effectiveness of antidepressants to treat depression.
I'm not telling you to blame your doctor. Instead, blame deceptive scientific practices and industry-protective government polices. Let's talk a closer look at these findings and their implications.
Get the story 
http://drhyman.com/the-dangers-of-the-medical-industrial-co...