In This Issue
ASBMR Updates & Announcements
2012 Esteemed Award Winners Announced
WBMRC’s Latest Blog Entry: Balancing Science and Family
August JBMR Highlights
Minority Travel Awards Available to Attend ASBMR Annual Meeting
Speed Networking Event Planned for Minneapolis
News Briefs
"ASBMR Task Force Urges Use of Fracture Liaision Services to Reduce Costly Osteoporosis Bone Breaks"
"Blockading JNK, NFAT Pathways Attenuates Orthopedic Particle-Stimulated Osteoclastogenesis of Human Osteoclast Precursors, Murine Calvarial Osteolysis"
"Bone Tissue Engineering: Attaching Proteins for Better Regeneration"
"Effects of Insulin-Like Growth Factor I on Alveolar Bone Remodeling in Diabetic Rats"
"Link Between PPI Use and Longitudinal Change in Bone Mineral Density: Analysis of Population-Based Sample From Canadian Multicentre Osteoporosis Study"
"Lower Vitamin D Could Increase Risk of Dying, Especially for Frail, Older Adults"
"Once-Monthly Oral Ibandronate Provides Significant Improvement in Bone Mineral Density in Certain Post Menopausal Women"
"Research Uncovers Vitamin D Boost"
"Solving the Mystery of How Cigarette Smoking Weakens Bones"
"Stem Cell Therapy Could Offer New Hope for Defects and Injuries to Head, Mouth"
"Tests May Reduce Death After Hip Fracture"
"Widespread Use of Prescription Steroids Draws Worry"
ASBMR Updates & Announcements
2012 Esteemed Award Winners Announced
ASBMR is pleased to announce this year's Esteemed Award Winners. All awards will be presented during the 2012 Annual Meeting in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA, October 12-15, 2012. Read More.
WBMRC’s Latest Blog Entry: Balancing Science and Family
Visit the Women in Bone Resource Center to read the latest blog entry; “Balancing Science and Family: Tidbits of Wisdom from Those Who’ve Tried It and Succeeded” by Carol A. Bascom-Slack. Read More.
August JBMR Highlights
 The August 2012 issue of the Journal for Bone and Mineral Research (JBMR) is now off press. Highlights in this issue include:
• Perspective: The role of endothelial-mesenchymal transition in heterotopic ossification
• Original Article: Relationship of changes in total hip bone mineral density to vertebral and nonvertebral fracture risk in women with postmenopausal osteoporosis treated with once-yearly zoledronic acid 5 mg: The HORIZON-Pivotal Fracture Trial (PFT)
• Original Article: Repression of osteocyte Wnt/β-catenin signaling is an early event in the progression of renal osteodystrophy
Minority Travel Awards Available to Attend ASBMR Annual Meeting
 Travel Awards are available for the ASBMR 2012 Annual Meeting through the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB) Minority Access to Research Careers (MARC) Program. Read More.
Speed Networking Event Planned for Minneapolis
The ASBMR Women in Bone and Mineral Research and Membership Development Committees are co-sponsoring a Speed Networking Event at the 2012 Annual Meeting. This is an opportunity to learn networking skills and meet members at all career stages. Read More.
News Briefs
ASBMR Task Force Urges Use of Fracture Liaision Services to Reduce Costly Osteoporosis Bone Breaks
Science Codex (07/26/12)
An international expert task force convened by the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research is calling on healthcare providers to aggressively identify and provide care for people who have suffered their first osteoporosis-related fracture in order to prevent subsequent fractures. In an extensive review of possible solutions to prevent these secondary fractures, the task force identified the most effective solution: a system of patient care coordination called "fracture liaison services" that research has shown to significantly improve follow-up assessment and treatment after an initial fracture occurs. The most significant barrier to widespread use of the model is the lack of insurance coverage, according to the task force report, which appears online in the Journal of Bone and Mineral Research.
Blockading JNK, NFAT Pathways Attenuates Orthopedic Particle-Stimulated Osteoclastogenesis of Human Osteoclast Precursors, Murine Calvarial Osteolysis
Journal of Orthopaedic Research (07/27/12) Yamanaka, Yasuhiro; Clohisy, John C. F. ; Ito, Hiroshi; et al.
A study published in the Journal of Orthopaedic Research has found that JNK and NFATc1 seem to be significant mediators of orthopedic particle-induced osteolysis in humans. During the study, researchers examined the role of JNK and NFATc1 in mice in response to PMMA particles using the murine calvaria model. Researchers found that the MAPK/JNK inhibitor SP600125 and the calcineurin/NFAT inhibitor cyclosporine-A, when administered locally, were able to effectively block osteolysis in murine calvaria that had been caused by PMMA. In addition, researchers found that SP600125 and cyclosporine-A eliminated particle-induced osteoclastogenesis in human osteoclast progenitors that had been obtained from patients who had total hip replacements.
Bone Tissue Engineering: Attaching Proteins for Better Regeneration
Nanotechnology Now (07/26/12)
Researchers in Japan say that a new method that they developed for engineering bone tissue shows promise. The method involves the combination of a collagen-binding domain from fibronectin to BMP4 to create a new protein called BMP4-CBD, which the researchers used in a scaffold of natural collagen sponge and polylactic-co-glycolic acid. The researchers found that the expression of specific and non-specific osteogenetic markers used as indicators of bone tissue regeneration was much higher for BMP4-CBD, and that the use of BMP4-CBD initiated calcification.
Effects of Insulin-Like Growth Factor I on Alveolar Bone Remodeling in Diabetic Rats
Journal of Periodontal Research (07/27/12) Fang, Y.; Wang, L.P.; Du, F.L.; et al.
Chinese researchers have completed a study that examined the impact that insulin-like growth factor I has on the remodeling of alveolar bone in rats with diabetes. The study, which was published in the Journal of Periodontal Research, found that diabetic rats that were not being treated for diabetes had shorter alveolar bones and lower bone-formation rates than did the control group of rats or the group of diabetic rats that was being treated for diabetes. In addition, researchers noted that rats that were treated with insulin-like growth factor I experienced increases in the height of their alveolar bones and increased bone-formation rates relative to the results in diabetic rats. Researchers concluded that insulin-like growth factor I increases the volume of newly-formed bone after a tooth is extracted and that it returns the expression of glucose transporter-I in diabetic rats to normal, which in turn could play an important part in bone formation and mineralization.
Link Between PPI Use and Longitudinal Change in Bone Mineral Density: Analysis of Population-Based Sample From Canadian Multicentre Osteoporosis Study
American Journal of Gastroenterology (07/12) Wan, Yuet
A study published in the American Journal of Gastroenterology has found that the use of proton pump inhibitor (PPI) is associated with lower baseline femoral neck and total hip bone mineral density (BMD) values, though it does not seem to be associated with an increased rate of BMD loss after 10 years. The findings of the study support the belief that the use of PPI does not have a significant impact on bone mineral loss. In addition, the results of the study indicate that the increased risk of hip and vertebral fractures in those who use PPI may be the result of either residual confounding or some other cause of a fracture not related to BMD.
Lower Vitamin D Could Increase Risk of Dying, Especially for Frail, Older Adults
Medical Xpress (07/26/12)
The online edition of the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition has published the results of a study that examined the correlation between vitamin D levels and the risk of dying in older adults. The study, which examined over 4,300 adults over the age of 60 using data from the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, found that those who had low levels of vitamin D had a 30% higher chance of dying than did people who had higher levels of vitamin D. In addition, the study found that while frail adults had twice as a high of a risk of dying as those who were not frail, people who were both frail and low in vitamin D had three times as high of a risk of dying as those who were not frail and had higher levels of the vitamin.
Once-Monthly Oral Ibandronate Provides Significant Improvement in Bone Mineral Density in Certain Post Menopausal Women
National Center for Biotechnology Information (07/27/12) Hakala, M. ; Kroger, H. ; Valleala, H.; et al.
The Scandinavian Journal of Rheumatology has published a study by researchers in Finland that examined the effectiveness and safety of the drug ibandronate in preventing glucocorticoid (GC)-induced osteoporosis (GIOP) in women who have inflammatory rheumatic diseases and have gone through menopause. The study found that ibandronate, which is taken orally once a month, significantly increases mean lumbar spine (LS) and total hip bone mineral density (BMD) and is safe to use in post-menopausal women who have been treated with low-dose GCs for inflammatory rheumatic diseases. Women who took ibandronate experienced a 2.6% and 3.2% increase in mean LS BMD from baseline to six and 12 months, respectively, compared with a 0.3% increase and a 0.1% decrease, respectively, in those who took a placebo. Similar increases were also seen in trochanter, femoral neck, and total hip BMDs after 12 months in women who took ibandronate.
Research Uncovers Vitamin D Boost
Australian Broadcasting Corp. News (07/27/12)
Researchers at Australia's Menzies Research Institute have discovered a way to boost the amount of vitamin D that people absorb from the sun. According to the researchers, the multiple sclerosis drug interferon-beta may be able to increase vitamin D levels. The researchers found that those who take the drug absorb as much as three times as much vitamin D from the sun as those who do not take it.
Solving the Mystery of How Cigarette Smoking Weakens Bones
Science Daily (07/26/2012)
A study published in the Journal of Proteome Research has uncovered why smoking increases one's risk of developing osteoporosis or suffering a bone fracture. Researchers analyzed differences in genetic activity in the bone marrow cells of people who smoked and those who did not, and found that smokers produce excessive amounts of two proteins that support the development of bone-resorbing osteoclasts when compared with non-smokers. This finding was confirmed in experiments involving lab mice.
Stem Cell Therapy Could Offer New Hope for Defects and Injuries to Head, Mouth
eNews Park Forest (IL) (07/30/12) Bailey, Laura
Researchers have found that using stem cells extracted from bone marrow may be better at regrowing craniofacial tissues than standard bone regeneration treatments. The study, which was published in the July edition of the journal Cell Transplantation, examined 24 patients whose jawbones needed to be reconstructed following a tooth extraction and were given either experimental tissue repair cells or guided bone regeneration therapy. The researchers found that the bones of those who were treated with tissue repair cells were repaired faster than the bones of those who were given traditional guided bone therapy, and that the tissue repair cells helped bring about greater bone density than the other form of treatment.
Tests May Reduce Death After Hip Fracture
Wall Street Journal (07/30/12) Lukits, Ann
Researchers have found that a simple blood test could reduce the risk of complications and death in elderly individuals who suffer hip fractures. That finding, which was published in the journal Injury, was based on an analysis of 15 studies performed between 1999 and 2011 that measured biochemical markers related to an increased risk of death in more than 8,500 people who have been hospitalized after fracturing their hip. Meanwhile, a study published in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise indicates that women who breastfeed can avoid bone loss associated with rapid weight loss following pregnancy. The study found that women who modestly reduced the amount of food that they ate and engaged in weight training and other forms of exercise were able to lose a significant amount of weight while avoiding the negative impact on bone density that overweight lactating women experience.
Widespread Use of Prescription Steroids Draws Worry
Reuters (07/26/12)
A study published in the journal Arthritis Care & Research has found that many Americans who take oral steroids fail to take other drugs that reduce their elevated risk of suffering bone fractures. The study examined interviews of more than 26,000 people over the age of 20 that were conducted as part of the National Health and Nutrition Survey between 1999 and 2008, and found that 1.2 percent of respondents--or more than 2.5 million U.S. adults if the results are extrapolated out to the entire country--take oral steroids, which are used to treat inflammatory diseases but can result in bone loss and other serious side effects. However, fewer than 1% of these individuals also take bisphosphonates to prevent osteoporosis. Researchers cautioned that the findings of the survey may be an underestimate since they are based on respondents self-reporting their drug use.
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