HOMOEOPATHIC REMEDIES FOR OSTEOPOROSIS

Osteoporosis causes bones to become weak and brittle — so brittle that a fall or even mild stresses like bending over or coughing can cause a fracture. Osteoporosis-related fractures most commonly occur in the hip, wrist or spine.

Bone is living tissue that is constantly being broken down and replaced. Osteoporosis occurs when the creation of new bone doesn't keep up with the removal of old bone.

Osteoporosis affects men and women of all races. But white and Asian women — especially older women who are past menopause — are at highest risk. Medications, healthy diet and weight-bearing exercise can help prevent bone loss or strengthen already weak bones.

Causes

Your bones are in a constant state of renewal — new bone is made and old bone is broken down. When you're young, your body makes new bone faster than it breaks down old bone and your bone mass increases. Most people reach their peak bone mass by their early 20s. As people age, bone mass is lost faster than it's created.

How likely you are to develop osteoporosis depends partly on how much bone mass you attained in your youth. The higher your peak bone mass, the more bone you have "in the bank" and the less likely you are to develop osteoporosis as you age

Symptoms

There typically are no symptoms in the early stages of bone loss. But once bones have been weakened by osteoporosis , you may have signs and symptoms that include-back pain, caused by fractured or collapsed vertebra. Loss of height over time, a stooped posture, a bone fracture that occurs much more easily than expected.

HOMOEOPATHIC REMEDIES

CALCAREA PHOS 30- Calcarea phos is one of the top homoeopathic medicines in curing osteoporosis. Here the bones are delicate and easily breakable.The bones of the head are deficient in quality and quantity. This will promote the absorption of calcium from the food that the patient takes. The bones of the neck are too small and weak to support the head which is normally large. The bones of the extremities are also weak and fragile.

Calcarea phosphorica is an excellent  medicine for treating curvature of spine in osteoporosis patients.  It is mainly given to those patients of osteoporosis who  have weak spine and soft bones which lead to curvature of spine .Such patients are unable to support their body. This homeopathic medicine is also used if anaemia is present along with curvature of spine in osteoporosis patients.  Calcarea phosphorica is also prescribed in curvature of spine when associated backache which is worse in cold weather and from exertion . Stools green, undigested and offensive. No appetite, it is a bone builder and creates new blood cells. It gives general tone to the entire organism.

CALCAREA CARB.30-Calcarea carb. is often helpful to individuals who are easily tired by exertion and tend to feel anxious and overwhelmed from work or stress. The person may be chilly, flabby or overweight, and feel worse from cold and dampness. Back pain, swollen joints, and a sweaty head at night are often seen. People who need this remedy often have strong cravings for both eggs and sweets.

CACAREA FLOUR. 30—Calcarea flour. Is prescribed when cracking in the joints is present. Easy joint dislocation . Swelling and indurated enlargements  haing their seat in the tissue and ligaments, tendons of joints. Chronic lumbago. Lumbago worse on beginning to move and ameliorated on continued motion.Better from rubbing, warm applications

SYMPHYTUM OFFICINALE 30—Symphytum officinale is the top  remedy for treating fractures in osteoporosis.  Symphytum officinale is commonly known as ‘knit bone’ and as the name represents it helps in knitting/uniting the fractured bone by increasing the callous production. This  remedy helps in union of fractured bone very efficiently. Fractures where patients complain of pricking type of pain at fractured site can be greatly relieved by this  medicine. Symphytum  can also help in reducing the irritability at the site of fracture .

RUTA GRAVEOLENS 30-  Ruta Graveolens is another effective remedy employed in the treatment of fractures in osteoporosis.Whenever a bone gets fractured the surrounding tendons and ligaments of bones also get damaged.  This  medicine  helps in healing  torn tendons and ligaments. It also helps in repairing the damaged bone. This homeopathic remedy  helps in decreasing the pain, soreness and stiffness around fractured area mainly wrist fracture.

HYPERICUM PERFORATUM 30--Hypericum perforatum is the another useful Homeopathic medicine that can be used with confidence for the excessive pain in back due to crushing of nerves in between damaged vertebral bones.  The excessive pains and sensitiveness in  back after fracture of vertebral bones that are worse by slight motion of neck or arms ,can be efficiently controlled by Hypericum .

SILICEA 200-Silicea is another excellent  that can  cure of fracture in osteoporosis patients. Silicea  is usually prescribed in those patients of osteoporosis in which the disease is due to defective assimilation of calcium . In such cases Silicea is of considerable use and it helps by enhancing the assimilation power of digestive system.  Silicea is also very helpful where pus  or fistula formation has occurred at the site of fracture.  Silicea helps in efficient union of broken bone and it also held in removing bone splinters.

PHOSPHORUS 30- Phosphorus can also give best results in curvature of spine in patients of osteoporosis if burning sensation in spine is present along with curvature. Phosphorus  is also useful for pain and weakness of spine. The patient feels intense pain in spine , as if the spine was broken.

SULPHUR 200-Sulphur  is utilised in those patients of osteoporosis who develop curvature of spine and walk and sit in a stooping position. Curvature of spine when associated with backache is effectively treated with this natural remedy. Another marked feature   Sulphur is excessive heat sensation in body especially soles of feet alongwith pain and curvature of spine .

FLUORIC AICD 30-Fluoric acid is effective when stabbing pain in bone is present which is worse at night

AURUM METALLICUM 30- Osteoporosis with pain worse at night. Pain mainly in the skull, nose or palate .       

UNSUNG CELLS DOUBLE BENEFITS OF ANEW OSTEOPOROSIS DRUG

 Experiments in mice with a bone disorder similar to that in women after menopause show that a scientifically overlooked group of cells are likely crucial to the process of bone loss caused by the disorder, according to Johns Hopkins researchers. Their discovery, they say, not only raises the research profile of the cells, called preosteoclasts, but also explains the success and activity of an experimental osteoporosis drug with promising results in phase III clinical trials

A summary of their work will be published on Oct. 5 in the journal Nature Medicine.

"We didn't know that the drug affects preosteoclasts, nor did we understand how important preosteoclasts are in maintaining healthy bones," says Xu Cao, Ph.D., the Lee H. Riley Jr., M.D., Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery. "Now drug companies hoping to reverse osteoporosis can look for even more drugs that make use of and target these interesting cells."

The bones of mice, people and all land animals are not only necessary for strength and structure, but also as warehouses for calcium, which cells throughout the body use continuously for everyday tasks like cell-to-cell communication, muscle strength, and even embryo fertilization and hormone balance.

Calcium is taken from digested food and stored in the semihollow space inside bones. To access the stored calcium, the inner bone goes through a process called resorption, in which cells called osteoclasts attach to the bone and dissolve the calcium and other stored minerals. Nearby, specialized blood vessels pick up the calcium and send it throughout the body. They also bring in nutrients needed for new bone formation.

Under normal conditions, bone resorption is carefully balanced with bone rebuilding to maintain bone strength. But in women who have entered menopause, decreases in estrogen can cause bone resorption to overcome bone rebuilding, leading to osteoporosis and frequent bone breaks. In the U.S., an estimated 25 million women have osteoporosis.

"Most osteoporosis drugs on the market slow down bone resorption but do nothing to encourage bone rebuilding," says Cao. Previous data, including that from early clinical trials in humans, indicated that the drug odanacatib decreases bone resorption by hobbling CTSK, one of the enzymes used to resorb bone. What came as a pleasant surprise was that the same drug also increased bone rebuilding, but the question was how it did so, Cao says.

To learn more, Cao and his team studied mice genetically engineered to have neither bone-dissolving osteoclasts nor their precursors, preosteoclasts. Though the inner bones of the mice were abnormal, as expected, the team also found that the outside layers of the bones were thin. Moreover, the specialized blood vessels needed to transport bone-building supplies were in scarce supply, suggesting overall that osteoclasts and their precursors regulate bone building and bone resorption.

The team grew the two cell types separately in the laboratory and collected the liquid around them to test for proteins released by the cells. They found that preosteoclasts -- but not mature osteoclasts -- secrete a protein called PDGF-BB, which is a powerful attracter both of cells that make bone-building cells and those that make the specialized blood vessels. As expected, when the preosteoclasts of mice were prevented from making PDGF-BB, the mice had weak bones.

"Before a new building is constructed, the roads have to be in place so that the materials and equipment can be brought in," says Cao. "In a similar way, preosteoclasts call blood vessels into an area before bone-building cells begin to make new bone."

When mice were given L-235, the animal form of odanacatib, the numbers of their preosteoclasts and osteoclasts increased, and they secreted more PDGF-BB. The increased PDGF-BB brought in more cells for making blood vessels and bone, which led to more of the specialized blood vessels and thicker bones.

To see if the drug could help reverse the increased bone resorption and decreased blood vessel formation of postmenopausal osteoporosis, the researchers simulated menopause in female mice by removing their ovaries. At first, the mice had thinner bones and fewer blood vessels, but treatment with the drug increased the concentration of PDGF-BB in the blood, the number of specialized blood vessels both inside and outside of the bones, and the overall thickness and density of the bone.

According to Cao, in addition to slowing bone resorption by blocking CTSK, an osteoclast "weapon," the drug also appears to slow down the maturation of preosteoclasts, lengthening the amount of time they secrete PDGF-BB before becoming osteoclasts. With increased PDGF-BB, more specialized blood vessels are made and more bone-building cells arrive, restoring the balance between bone resorption and bone rebuilding.

Odanacatib is produced by Merck & Co. Inc. and has already gone through phase III clinical trials with good results, according to Cao. "It is unusual to see a single drug that decreases bone resorption and increases bone rebuilding at the same time," says Cao. "Beyond that, we now know just how important preosteoclasts and PDGF-BB are to bone building, which is information we can use in designing future studies."