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Beta blockers help boost bone density

(China Daily)
Updated: 2010-11-17 09:36

The bane of many old people is the fear of falling and the breaking of bones made thin and brittle by osteoporosis.

It is a condition that in many rich countries affects a third of older women and 20 percent of older men, and half of those treated in hospital for a fracture will be back again with another. Osteoporosis is costly for sufferers and the community.

Doctors prescribe calcium supplements for patients with osteoporosis - and also recommend lifestyle changes, such as more exercise and greater exposure to the sun.

But it is likely that some patients are inadvertently taking medications that are helping to keep their bones strong.

At Sydney's Garvan Institute, researchers came across data that suggested pills for high blood pressure, commonly called beta blockers, are increasing bone density, as well as staving off strokes and heart attacks.

Tuan Nguyen, a professor at the institute, looked at research from New York's Columbia University that showed mice given beta blockers also increased the thickness of their bones.

"What we don't know is whether giving people beta blockers will actually reduce their fractures in sort of a randomized control situation," Nguyen says.

Further research is needed to show conclusively that bones are benefiting from beta blockers. If they are, doctors might have to look again at their choices when they see older people with high blood pressure.

DPA - Reuters