Calcium News and Research

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Calcium, the most abundant mineral in the body, is found in some foods, added to others, available as a dietary supplement, and present in some medicines (such as antacids). Calcium is required for muscle contraction, blood vessel expansion and contraction, secretion of hormones and enzymes, and transmitting impulses throughout the nervous system. The body strives to maintain constant concentrations of calcium in blood, muscle, and intercellular fluids, though less than <1% of total body calcium is needed to support these functions.

The remaining 99% of the body's calcium supply is stored in the bones and teeth where it supports their structure. Bone itself undergoes continuous remodeling, with constant resorption and deposition of calcium into new bone. The balance between bone resorption and deposition changes with age. Bone formation exceeds resorption in growing children, whereas in early and middle adulthood both processes are relatively equal. In aging adults, particularly among postmenopausal women, bone breakdown exceeds formation, resulting in bone loss that increases the risk of osteoporosis over time.

Aggressive breast cancer’s metastasis molecular switch identified

Scientists at Weill Cornell Medical College have discovered the molecular switch that allows aggressive triple negative breast cancer cells to grow the amoeba-like protrusions they need to crawl away from a primary tumor and metastasize throughout the body. Their findings, published in Cancer Cell, suggest a novel approach for developing agents to treat cancer once it has spread.

15 Jan 2013

Clinical trials aim to repair bones using adult stem cells combined with biomaterials

The clinical trials aim to repair bones using adult stem cells combined with biomaterials. It will be conducted in France in the Cr-teil University Hospital Centre and the Regional University Hospital Centre in Tours, in collaboration with the French Blood Establishment.

10 Jan 2013

Tibial artery calcification predicts foot ulceration

Tibial artery calcification is a significant risk factor for foot ulcers in patients with Type 2 diabetes, research suggests.

9 Jan 2013

Spectrum Pharmaceuticals reveals positive RenaZorb Phase 1 clinical trial results

Spectrum Pharmaceuticals, a biotechnology company with fully integrated commercial and drug development operations with a primary focus in hematology and oncology, today announced positive, statistically significant data from the Company's Phase 1 clinical trial evaluating the safety and tolerability of RenaZorb (also referred to as SPI-014) in healthy volunteers.

8 Jan 2013

Study finds a new way in which calcium signaling may be controlled

In a study published in Current Biology, scientists from the University of Rochester Medical Center, Marquette University and Oberlin College discovered a new way in which calcium signaling may be controlled. Study authors say their findings define a mechanism for regulating calcium signaling that has never been recognized before and should be of great help to the thousands of scientists who study the extremely important role of calcium signaling in health and disease.

7 Jan 2013

Stanford scientists identify molecular basis for hypertrophic cardiomyopathy

When a young athlete dies unexpectedly on the basketball court or the football field, it's both shocking and tragic. Now Stanford University School of Medicine researchers have, for the first time, identified the molecular basis for a condition called hypertrophic cardiomyopathy that is the most common cause for this type of sudden cardiac death.

4 Jan 2013

Calphotin essential in keeping cellular calcium concentration low

All living cells keep their cellular calcium concentration at a very low level. Since a small increase in calcium can affect many critical cellular functions (an elevated calcium concentration over an extended period can induce cell death), powerful cellular mechanisms ensure that calcium concentration quickly returns to its low level.

4 Jan 2013

Crofelemer receives FDA approval for treatment of HIV associated diarrhea

Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Limited announced today that the US Food and Drug Administration has provided Marketing approval to its partner in US, Salix Pharmaceuticals Limited, for Crofelemer 125 mg delayed-release tablets for the symptomatic relief of non-infectious diarrhea in patients with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/ acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) on anti-retroviral therapy (ART).

2 Jan 2013

Model-independent way to study ion channel gating

Two studies in The Journal of General Physiology (JGP) help pave the way for a "shortcut" model-free approach to studying activation of "polymodal" ion channels-channels that open in response to multiple stimuli. Transmembrane ion channels respond to various physiological stimuli to regulate numerous cellular functions. Different classes of channels respond to different types of stimuli; some channels, for instance, respond to changes in membrane potential whereas others are activated by ligand binding.

28 Dec 2012

Researchers develop unique approach to calpain inhibition

Calpain, a calcium-regulated enzyme, is essential to a host of cellular processes, but can cause severe problems in its overactivated state. It has been implicated as a factor in muscular dystrophy, AIDS, Alzheimer's disease, multiple sclerosis, and cancer. As such, finding and exploiting calpain inhibitors is an important area of research.

28 Dec 2012

Diuretic-based antihypertensive therapy touted for obese

Diuretic-based antihypertensive regimens may be preferable to calcium channel blocker-based therapy in patients who are obese, suggest researchers writing in The Lancet.

24 Dec 2012

CAC test can identify diabetes patients at high risk of fatal cardiovascular disease

People with Type 2 diabetes have two to four times the risk of cardiovascular disease compared to people without the disease. The best way for doctors to predict which diabetes patients are at the greatest risk for heart disease is to use a coronary artery calcium (CAC) test in addition to the most commonly used assessment tool, according to researchers at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center.

21 Dec 2012

Maternal vitamin D deficiency could cause low birth weight

Women deficient in vitamin D early in their pregnancies are more likely to deliver babies with lower birth weights, University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health research reveals.

20 Dec 2012

New form of puffed rice ideal for breakfast cereals and snacks

A new process for blowing up grains of rice produces a super-nutritious form of puffed rice, with three times more protein and a rich endowment of other nutrients that make it ideal for breakfast cereals, snack foods and nutrient bars for school lunch programs, scientists are reporting. Their study appears in ACS' Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.

19 Dec 2012

Osteoporosis screening: an interview with Professor Cyrus Cooper

Osteoporosis is defined as a reduction in bone mass coupled with micro-architectural deterioration of bone tissue which predisposes to fractures. Osteoporosis manifests through an increased risk of fracture, and age-related fractures are a major public health problem.

17 Dec 2012

Educational intervention increases calcium intake and retards bone loss in postmenopausal women

Today at the International Osteoporosis Foundation's Asia-Pacific Osteoporosis Meeting, researchers from the National Institute of Nutrition in Hanoi presented a new research study that showed the benefits of educational intervention in increasing calcium intake and retarding bone loss in postmenopausal women.

17 Dec 2012

Five young investigators receive prestigious grants at IOF’s 3rd Asia-Pacific Osteoporosis Meeting

Five young investigators from the Asia-Pacific region have been awarded prestigious grants on the closing day the IOF Regionals - 3rd Asia-Pacific Osteoporosis Meeting, a major medical conference organized by the International Osteoporosis Foundation (IOF) in Kuala Lumpur.

16 Dec 2012

Researchers turn light into heat on the nanoscale to trigger biochemical reactions

Since Edison's first bulb, heat has been a mostly undesirable byproduct of light. Now researchers at Rice University are turning light into heat at the point of need, on the nanoscale, to trigger biochemical reactions remotely on demand.

14 Dec 2012

Mineral metabolism abnormalities may increase risk of kidney failure among African Americans

Abnormalities of mineral metabolism worsen with progressive chronic kidney disease (CKD) and are linked with a higher risk for kidney failure among African Americans, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (JASN).