Dec. 6, 1999 A team of scientists has discovered that some
widely-prescribed cholesterol-lowering drugs also have
impressive bone-building capabilities that may make them
effective drugs for treating osteoporosis. The team's findings
appear in the 3 December issue of Science. These drugs, known as
statins, represent an entirely new approach to treating
osteoporosis, one which emphasizes building new bone to replace
bone that has already deteriorated. Current therapies for the
disease focus on stopping or slowing bone loss and stabilizing a
person's existing bone mass. "Hopefully this will stimulate drug
companies to take a look at the statins that they might have on
their shelves and do clinical trials on the ones that actually
target bone," said Gregory Mundy of Osteoscreen, lead author of
the study. 100 million people worldwide are at risk for
osteoporosis, particularly postmenopausal women and a rapidly
growing elderly population. In osteoporosis patients, bone loses
crucial minerals such as calcium and ph