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Bone formation may be controlled by serotonin, a chemical known mainly for its entirely separate role in the brain. The discovery could have enormous implications, because there is an urgent need for osteoporosis treatments that actually build bone.
Most current treatments only slow further bone loss, rather than increase bone formation. And the exception, parathyroid hormone, is recommended only for short-term use and costs about $6,700 a year.
Now researchers have discovered an unexpected system that appears to control bone formation, involving serotonin made in the gut rather than the brain. The serotonin is released into the blood, and the more serotonin that reaches bone, the more bone is lost. Conversely, the less serotonin, the denser and stronger bones become.
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