DHEA improves bone density in women

In an article published in the May, 2009 issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, researchers at Washington University in St Louis, Missouri report that women who supplemented with the hormone dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) along with calcium and vitamin D experienced a greater increase in bone density than women who received calcium and vitamin D alone.

Edward Weiss, PhD and his associates randomized 113 men and women aged 65 to 75 to receive 50 milligrams orally administered DHEA per day or a placebo for one year. For the second year of the study, all subjects received 50 milligrams DHEA while none received a placebo. All participants received a daily regimen of 700 milligrams calcium and 16 micrograms vitamin D for the duration of the trial. Bone mineral density was assessed via dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry, and hormones and markers of bone metabolism were measured in blood serum at the beginning of the study and at one and two years. Continue Reading

Meta-analyses find soy isoflavones prevent bone resorption, stimulate bone formation and increase bone mineral density in menopausal women

The results of two meta-analyses conducted by a team from Peking University in Beijing, China and the University of Yamanashi in Japan have determined that not only does supplementing with soy help inhibit bone resorption and increase bone formation, it also improves spinal bone mineral density.

For the first review, published in the February, 2008 issue of the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Pei-Yu Wang and colleagues selected 9 randomized, controlled trials which tested high isoflavone isolated soy protein or isoflavone tablets in a total of 432 perimenopausal or postmenopausal women.

Urinary deoxypyridinoline, a marker of bone resorption, and serum bone-specific alkaline phosphatase (BAP), a bone formation marker, were measured before and after the treatment periods, which ranged from 4 to 48 weeks.

The second meta-analysis, published in the February, 2008 issue of the journal Clinical Nutrition, included 10 trials involving 608 peri- or postmenopausal subjects who ingested soy products or isoflavones for 3 months to 4 years. Spine bone mineral density was measured by dual x-ray absorptiometry upon enrollment and at the end of the studies. Bone mineral content was determined in 6 of the trials. Continue Reading