December 16, 2004
A team of NIDCR scientists and colleagues report in animal studies that a promising type of investigational drug now under development to treat a variety of apoptosis-related diseases, including nervous system defects, retinal degeneration, liver injury, stunned myocardium, and sepsis, may also cause an unwanted loss of bone mass. Based on their prelimary data, published in the December 15, 2004 issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation, the researchers conclude that future studies of these compounds, called caspase inhibitors, may need to be designed to evaluate their effects on bone mass, particularly in clinical trials that might involve older women at risk for osteoporosis.