[neverdem]

Bone breaker. The ruffled surfaces of bone-dissolving osteoclasts (pink) indicate that they are stripping out stressed bone. Credit: Stephen Nesbitt / University College London

Boning Up on Osteoporosis

[neverdem]

Fire And Ice: Mars Images Reveal Recent Volcanic And Glacial Activity (climate change)

Martian Snow Source Of Tropical Glaciers, Research Team Reports

FReepmail me if you want on or off my health and science ping list. My mother fractured her pelvis one week before Christmas. Those who experience the trauma of an osteoporotic hip fracture have a 24% increased risk of dying within one year following the fracture

[AZLiberty]

There have been news articles lately claiming that Vitamin D prevents some cancers. Somewhat related to this, I saw an interesting presentation this past week by Jeff Trent, director of TGen. A 63-year-old woman who had been through 5 different regimes of chemotherapy -- without success -- was brought to the attention of TGen. Through a comprehensive genomic analysis, they identified a defect in a gene related to Vitamin D metabolism in the cancerous tissue. The woman was given megadoses of Vitamin D, and her cancer appeared to stop progressing for a year. After a year, she took a turn for the worse, so they did another genetic analysis, finding another gene defect, for which they identified another pharmaceutical treatment. The information is only anecdotal, but it points to an era where disease treatments will be customized according details of your DNA.

[Rudder]

So physiologist Kyoji Ikeda and colleagues at the National Center for Geriatrics and Gerontology in Obu, Japan, and Chugai Pharmaceutical Co., in Gotemba, Japan, tried to tease apart the effects. By adding vitamin D to a petri dish full of osteoclast precursors, they discovered that the hormone blocked a signal called RANK ligand that tells these cells to become osteoclasts. That's how vitamin D cuts back on osteoclasts.

No mention of "the hormone."

What hormone?

[aimhigh]

Yet scientists know surprisingly little about how the compound works.

The average medical school teaches almost nothing about nutrician. Doctors know that their careers may be threatened if they delve into this area.

[boris]

As I pointed out in another thread on D, it has been shown to suppress colon polyps and hence colon cancer. When I mentioned this to my gastroenterologist, he said, "I have heard nothing about this."

Now I take D every day and my polyps have virtually disappeared.

--Boris

[PGalt]

Thanks for the ping. Thanks for the links. Very interesting.

[SupplySider]

BTTT

After reading up on Vitamin D a few months ago, I started taking 1000 mg a day from November-April.