Osteoporosis Research Investigating Effects of Cannabis Drug on Thinning Bones
26 March 2008
Scientists are to recruit 200 heavy cannabis users to investigate whether the drug has a harmful affect on users' bones.
The team at the University of Edinburgh also hope to establish whether a drug currently used to treat obesity may also prevent bone loss in women with thinning bones following the menopause.
The researchers believe their work could lead to completely new drugs to treat osteoporosis, which work by preventing bone loss and also promoting bone formation.
Professor Stuart Ralston, who is leading the Arthritis Research Campaign-funded research over five years, said: "This will be an important first step to determine if new cannabinoid receptor-based treatments are likely to be of value in the fight against osteoporosis."
The cannabis and obesity drug studies are part of a £894,000 programme building on previous research by the Edinburgh team, which showed that chemicals produced naturally in the body called cannabinoids have important effects on bone. Receptors for these substances are present in bone cells and play a crucial role in regulating bone density and bone loss.
In the cannabis study, the team will recruit up to 200 heavy cannabis users from general practices in Edinburgh to explore the possible adverse effects of recreational cannabis on bone disease.
"Cannabis is the most widely-used illegal drug in the UK, particularly in the young, but virtually nothing is known about its possible effects on bone health," explained Professor Ralston, Arthritis Research Campaign Professor of Rheumatology at the university's Rheumatic Disease Unit.
"The aim of our study is to determine if cannabis use negatively impacts on bone density, which is an important risk factor for osteoporosis in later life. The situation is complex because we know that cannabis is often smoked in combination with tobacco and so the study will take this into account. We will also take account of cannabis users' diet, exercise and alcohol intake, since these are also known to influence bone health."
Professor Ralston explained: "Our previous research showed that cannabinoid receptors play a critical role in thinning/weakening bones after the menopause and we have since found that the receptors are also involved in promoting new bone formation. This is an exciting discovery because it opens up the possibility that we can develop new drug treatments for osteoporosis which bind to cannabinoid receptors to prevent bone loss and promote bone formation.
"The treatments for osteoporosis that are out there now either work by preventing bone loss or by stimulating bone formation, so if we could develop a new treatment that worked in both ways at the same time, this would be a major advance."
One in two women and one in five men are likely to suffer from osteoporosis, which leads to 200,000 fractures a year, 86,000 of which are broken hips. Existing drugs are inconvenient to take and also have side-effects.
Racial Differences in Response to Bowel Cancer Genetic Risk Factor
1 April 2008
IGMM scientists have for the first time discovered that people with the same cancer susceptibility genes respond differently depending on their race. Their results are published in Nature Genetics.
The team from the University of Edinburgh has shown that a genetic marker is associated with an increased the risk of colon cancer in Europeans, but not in the Japanese population. But this genetic variant was associated with a similar risk of rectal cancer in both populations.
While dietary differences are already well known to be important, this discovery shows for the first time that genetic factors might explain some of the differences in bowel cancer risk between populations.
This is one in a series of Cancer Research UK funded studies searching for bowel cancer susceptibility genes. The international collaborative project has the long term aim to find a set of genetic markers that could be used to identify subgroups of the population with an increased risk of bowel cancer.
Lead author, Cancer Research UK's Professor Malcolm Dunlop based at the Institute of Genetics and Molecular Medicine at the University of Edinburgh, said: "This is the first time that a race-specific effect has been found for a genetic marker. It's an important step forward in our knowledge of the causes of bowel cancer, bringing us ever closer to a genetic test for those at high risk of the disease.
"It's important to catch bowel cancer at an early stage when it's more likely to be treated successfully."
Prof Dunlop and his team looked at the complete genetic make up of over 33,000 people in seven different countries.
In a parallel study, also published in Nature Genetics, a team of researchers led by Professor Richard Houlston based at the Institute of Cancer Research, Professor Ian Tomlinson at Cancer Research UK's London Research Institute along with Professor Dunlop and Professor Campbell in Edinburgh found two new gene variants that increase the risk of bowel cancer.
Cancer Research UK's director of cancer information, Dr Lesley Walker, said: "Our understanding of the causes of bowel cancer is quickly increasing. We can now begin to explain the some of the difference in rates of the disease between populations through specific genes.
"This international collaboration has helped us appreciate the complexity of the genetics behind bowel cancer. This collaboration will continue to bring knowledge that will eventually allow us to test people with a family history of the disease, catching cancer earlier in those who are at the highest risk or preventing it all together."
Related Links
The Scotsman: Scientists find Ethnic Link to Bowel Cancer
BBC News: Racial Clues in Bowel Cancer Find
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