Researchers have identified a mechanism that leads to bone loss in older adults, an advance that may help develop therapeutics to treat the age-associated bone loss condition. Osteoporosis- the thinning of bone and the loss of bone density that increases the risk of fractures is a major health problem in older people. Often the condition is accompanied by an increase in fat cells in the bone marrow. The study led by the professor at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, found a protein called CBF-beta which plays a critical role in maintaining the bone-producing cells.
Furthermore, the examination of aged mice showed dramatically reduced levels of CBF-beta in bone marrow cells as compared to younger mice. The findings showed when this mechanism malfunctions, progenitor cells stop creating bone-producing cells and instead create fat cells. Thus, maintaining this CBF-beta may be…
