Serotonin Blocker May Build New Bone in Osteoporotic Mice by Decreasing GI Serotonin Levels

From WebMD:

When investigators treated mice with an experimental drug that stopped the gut from synthesizing serotonin, they were able to reverse severe bone loss and essentially cure osteoporosis in the animals.



Serotonin May Hold Key to Halting Osteoporosis. NatureVideoChannel — February 05, 2010 — A drug that reverses osteoporosis in mice looks like a promising candidate for treating the human version of the disease. Gerard Karsenty and his colleagues at Columbia University Medical Center have shown that blocking the neurotransmitter serotonin--secreted from the gut--promotes bone growth. The research appears on-line at www.nature.com/naturemedicine - Yadav et al. Nature Medicine, 7 February 2010. DOI: 10.1038/nm.2098.

Most bone treatments work to block bone loss and make existing bone stronger. One drug, Forteo (teriparatide), does build new bone, but it requires daily injections and is limited to two years of use.

References:
Serotonin May Be a Key to Treat Osteoporosis. WebMD.

A NYTimes skeptic doubts that decreasing salt intake would have any benefits (it may even hurt)

From the NYtimes:

"The harder the experts try to save Americans, the fatter we get. Officials responded by advising Americans to shun fat, which became the official villain of the national dietary guidelines during the 1980s and 1990s. The anti-fat campaign definitely made an impact on the marketing of food, but as we gobbled up all the new low-fat products, we kept getting fatter. Eventually, in 2000, the experts revised the dietary guidelines and conceded that their anti-fat advice may have contributed to diabetes and obesity by unintentionally encouraging Americans to eat more calories.

“When you reduce salt, you reduce blood pressure, but there can also be other adverse and unintended consequences. As more data have accumulated, it’s less and less supportive of the case for salt reduction, but the advocates seem more determined than ever to change policy.”

References:

Findings - When It Comes to Salt, No Rights or Wrongs. Yet. - NYTimes.com.

3-gram reduction in daily salt intake would decrease coronary heart disease, stroke, and death
Sweat Bees prefer sweaty people because the human diet is so salty that their perspiration is saturated with that essential nutrient. WSJ, 2012.

Image source: Single-serving salt packets. Wikipedia, GNU Free Documentation License.