Medical Mystery Solved

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Medical Mystery Solved

New research has solved a 100-year-old medical mystery regarding bone loss.

Researchers at the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Group in

Skeletal Development and Remodeling at the Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry

have discovered how the acid in your body interacts with the cells

responsible for bone loss and what can be done to stop it.

³The discovery helps us understand the biological basis of several diseases

affecting bone, such as rheumatoid arthritis and the spread of cancer within

the skeleton,² says Jeff Dixon, Director of the CIHR Group and professor of

Physiology & Pharmacology and Dentistry at Western.

³More importantly, this discovery may lead to the development of drugs that

reduce bone loss, without disrupting the rebuilding of normal bone.²

Physicians and researchers have known for the last 100 years that too much

acid in your body (known as acidosis) causes bone loss. Acidosis can result

from illnesses like kidney disease, diabetes, and chronic lung disease,

leading to further medical complications such as osteoporosis.

³Today, approximately 1.4 million Canadians are affected by osteoporosis and

by age 65, one in every two women will have osteoporosis, " says Dr. Cy

, Scientific Director, Institute of Musculoskeletal Health and

Arthritis (IMHA) of the CIHR.

³As we enter the half-way mark of the Bone and Joint Decade, these findings

will have far reaching implications helping us to better understand these

diseases, while contributing to an improved quality of life and health care

for all Canadians - a key priority of CIHR.²

The research findings were published in the recent edition of Proceedings of

the National Academy of Sciences. The study was funded through a partnership

of CIHR, IMHA and The Arthritis Society, and by the Canadian Arthritis

Network ­ a member of the federal Networks of Centres of Excellence,

Canada's flagship science and technology program.

The research team includes postdoctoral fellows Dr. Svetlana V. Komarova and

Dr. ey Pereverzev, undergraduate dental student Shum, and Dr.

Sims, a researcher in the CIHR Group in Skeletal Development and

Remodeling and professor of Physiology & Pharmacology.

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