New Target In Fight Against Osteoporosis, Periodontitis Identified By Dental Researchers

In a paper published May 17 in the online edition of the journal Nature Medicine, Cun-Yu Wang, who holds UCLA's No-Hee Park Endowed Chair in the dental school's division of oral biology and medicine, and colleagues suggest that inhibiting nuclear factor-kB (NF-kB), a master protein that controls genes associated with inflammation and immunity, can prevent disabling bone loss by maintaining bone formation.

The findings could offer new hope to millions who struggle with osteoporosis and periodontitis each year. The National Institutes of Health estimates that in the United States alone, more than 10 million people have osteoporosis, and many more have low bone mass, putting them at risk for the disease, as well as for broken bones. According to the American Academy of Periodontology, mild to moderate periodontitis affects a majority of adults, with between 5 and 20 percent of the population suffering from a more severe stage of the disease.