By NOF; Thursday, May 19, 2011

National Osteoporosis Foundation highlights lay abstracts from ISO 9 - Joint NOF-ASBMR Session: New Horizons in Bone Research

In this session, Dr. Khosla will explore the future of osteoporosis therapies including new pathways under investigation and other promising therapeutic agents in development. 

Estrogen plays a key role in building and maintaining bone in both men and women. Other sex hormones will be discussed as well to show the different effects each has in the body. It may be possible to use levels of follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) in the blood as a marker to estimate the degree of bone loss during menopause.

Cells throughout the body are able to “talk” to each other by secreting substance, proteins, to signal and turn on different cell actions. Depending on the part of the signaling pathway affected, this action may result in bone loss or bone gain. Dr. Khosla will discuss the WNT (“wint”) pathway and talk about how bone loss, bone gain as well as changes in bone structure may be stimulated by affecting any one of several points in the cycle. One protein in particular, sclerostin, will be examined in greater detail to illustrate its potential as a target for drug development.

Sundeep Khosla, MD is the Dr. Francis Chucker and Nathan Landow Research Professor of Medicine and Physiology, Mayo Foundation Distinguished Investigator, and an Associate Director for Research at the College of Medicine, Mayo Clinic. Dr. Khosla’s research interests include mechanisms of postmenopausal and age-related bone loss, sex steroid regulation of bone metabolism, and osteoblast/stem cell biology. Dr. Khosla has served as chair of the National Institutes of Health Skeletal Biology Development and Disease Study Section and on the Council of the National Institute on Aging. He has received numerous awards and honors for his work, including the Frederic C. Bartter Award for Clinical Investigation from the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research, the Clinical Investigator Award and Lecture from the Endocrine Society, the Innovation Award from the National Osteoporosis Foundation, and election to the ASCI and AAP. He is currently serving as President of the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research.

Please visit www.nof-iso.org for complete meeting details and program agenda.

About the National Osteoporosis Foundation

Established in 1984, the National Osteoporosis Foundation, a leading community-focused health organization, is dedicated to the prevention of osteoporosis and broken bones, the promotion of strong bones for life and the reduction of human suffering through programs of awareness, education, advocacy and research. For more information on the National Osteoporosis Foundation, visit www.nof.org.

The latest

The National Osteoporosis Foundation has named Barbara Hannah Grufferman as its first Bone Health Ambassador. In this newly-established role, Grufferman, a well-known advocate for healthy and positive living, will dedicate her time, talent and energy to raise awareness for osteoporosis and the importance of building strong bones for life.

Thanks to a generous gift from The Samuel J. & Ethel LeFrak Charitable Trust, the National Osteoporosis Foundation met its Generations of Strength fundraising goal one year early. NOF launched the Generations of Strength initiative in September 2011 with the goal of raising $2 million in two years to improve patient care for the most vulnerable – those who have broken bones due to osteoporosis – and to protect future generations from the disease.

The National Osteoporosis Foundation (NOF), the nation’s leading health organization dedicated to preventing osteoporosis and broken bones, has named Claire Gill as its Senior Director of Marketing, Consumer and Corporate Outreach.  Gill brings extensive experience in public relations and marketing communications to this newly-established role.