Released 10 July 2008

Aspirin 'could help people with osteoporosis'

New research has indicated that aspirin could be a useful treatment for people with osteoporosis.

Researchers from the University of Southern California published their findings in the journal PLoS One.

They reported that, in tests on mice, aspirin appeared to prevent both inappropriate bone resorption and the death of bone-forming stem cells.

Encouragingly, the study showed that the aspirin dose needed to promote bone mineral density is one that could be successfully up-scaled for human use.

"When we gave a large amount of aspirin to the mouse by injection, it did not work," explained Associate Professor Songtao Shi. "But when we gave a low dose in the mice's water for a long period of time, similar to a human dosage, the bone mineral density increased."

As a result the team said that the findings were promising, but acknowledged that species difference is still a factor. "We have opened a door. We hope other scientists can confirm what we've found and move the treatment forward."

A spokesman for the Arthritis Research Campaign said the research was novel, but concurred that the treatment needed to be tested on humans to gain an accurate picture of its effectiveness.ADNFCR-1096-ID-18679199-ADNFCR

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