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KMID : 0613820150250010113
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Journal of Life Science
2015 Volume.25 No. 1 p.113 ~ p.120
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Current Medical Therapies for Osteoporosis and Its Alternative Treatments Using Natural Products
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Oh Seung-Hoon
Ahn Soon-Cheol
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Abstract
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Osteoporosis is a major bone disorder defined as having bone mineral density (BMD) of 2.5 standard deviations or more below the peak bone mass. Osteoporosis will increasingly be a major disorder that faces the aging mankind. It is the result of an imbalance in the bone remodeling system, where bone constantly undergoes a cycle of resorption by osteoclasts and formation by osteoblasts. Estrogen deficiency in women following menopause is identified as the predominant reason that causes disparity in this system. Current medical treatments for osteoporosis include hormone replacement therapy (HRT), biphosphonates, and teriparatide, but have various side effects that raise questions concerning their medical safety and practicality. Alternative treatments involving natural product sources are under study to find a safer therapy. Many natural sources including lactoferrin and isoflavones and numerous traditional herbal medicines exhibit anti-resorptive or anabolic effects on bone and thus show promises to provide therapeutic agents in treating osteoporosis. Unfortunately, the majority of natural product treatments are still in its preliminary stages to prove their efficacy even though the development pace of treatment for osteoporosis is astounding in the past few decades. Further progress in pre-clinical studies and the subsequent clinical studies will someday lead to a breakthrough that takes us another step forward in science.
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KEYWORD
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Alternative therapy, natural product, osteoblast, osteoclast, osteoporosis
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