Posts Tagged ‘osteoclasts’
Don’t Swallow That Spider
Saturday, July 18th, 2009
Last week, we discussed the causes of osteoporosis, or low bone density, and mentioned how you can usually prevent it by eating whole natural foods, exercising, and avoiding drugs of any kind whenever possible. This week, we can focus on a special kind of bone in your jaws an around your teeth, called alveolar bone, and how bisphosphonates, a class of drugs used to treat osteoporosis, affects you.
In review, remember that bone is a living tissue which contains, among other things, osteoblasts, which are cells that deposit calcium from the blood into the bone structure, and osteoclasts, which are cells that remove the damaged structure and waste products and return them to the blood. In this way, the bone can be a vital tissue in your body that can stay healthy and respond to your environment. Constant exposure to things that increase blood acidity, such as drugs, sodas, and processed foods will induce excess osteoclastic activity in order to neutralize the blood. Over many years this results in a net deficit in bone density because more calcium is being removed than being restored by the osteoblasts. Unfortunately, life is never that simple. The process by which the osteoclasts and osteoblasts work is orchestrated by your endocrine (hormone) system in a way scientists don’t understand. Any condition or drug which affects your endocrine system will usually inhibit the osteoblastic activity, so that after the osteoclasts remove the unwanted tissue, little or no new bone is deposited in its place, resulting in a more rapid decrease in bone density and osteoporosis.
The most common condition that leads to hormone imbalance of course is menopause in women and impotency in men. After menopause, a decrease in blood estrogen is observed. In an attempt to restore the hormone balance and avert post-menopausal osteoporosis, doctors routinely prescribed artificial estrogen. Now, in spite of the fact that some research suggests it actually contributes to osteoporosis and estrogen therapy is proven to cause breast cancer, they stubbornly insist on continuing this practice.
The most common classification of drugs that affect the endocrine system is glucocorticoids, such as prednisone, prednisolone dexamethasone, and cortisone. These are usually used to control rheumatic diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and systemic lupus erythematosis. These drugs have a devastating effect on your entire body because the endocrine system is so powerful yet fragile. But glucocorticoids affect bone density in several ways, so osteoporosis will follow swiftly and certainly. Because of that, physicians that prescribe these drugs routinely also prescribe bisphosphonates in hopes to counteract that inevitability.
That brings us to the focus of this article…finally. Different brands of bisphosphonate preparations constitute the hands down drug of choice for “treating” osteoporosis. The names you are most familiar with are Fosamax, Actonel, Boniva, Aredia, and Zometa. A drug called Forteo is occasionally used, but don’t go there. It is a synthetic parathyroid hormone which has among its nightmarish list of effects that it actually causes bone cancer.
Bisphosphonates work by suppressing osteoclastic activity, so that the damaged bone and debris remains there, as new bone continues to be deposited. The result is that the bone becomes denser and less likely to fracture, for now. I’m reminded of Sally Field’s line in a Boniva commercial saying that it “makes your bones stronger and healthier.” Well, that’s a lie. Bisphosphonates also suppress the production of blood vessels, so that no nutrition is received, the cells all die, and the bone becomes dead – petrified. That doesn’t sound too healthy. If it stopped there, it wouldn’t be so bad, but eventually a process called necrosis occurs. The bone putrefies and turns to mush. I can just see all the lawyers licking their lips.
I know this because in the dental field we are seeing the tip of the iceberg. There’s even a name for it, Bisphosphonate-Related Osteonecrosis of the Jaw (BRONJ). This is becoming more prevalent each year and it is surfacing because this special kind if bone I’ve been talking about, alveolar bone, is a much more active bone because of the constant changes associated with the development, growth, infection, and loss of teeth. Because it is so active, the problems caused from bisphosphonate use are showing up earlier than in other bones, and it’s not pretty. Horrendous infections that are virtually untreatable because of the lack of circulation are destroying jaws. Drastic surgeries and drugs are used to counteract the effects of other drugs. It is like swallowing the cat to catch the bird that ate the spider. Just don’t swallow that first pill.
But before you jump out a window, let me tell you that it’s just a fraction of one percent of bisphosphonate users that are showing these signs in the jaws, although that fraction is increasing each year. And, admittedly, much suffering has been averted by the decrease in bone fractures from the use of bisphosphonates. The medical profession is playing a numbers game, betting that more people will benefit than suffer from these drugs. The drug industry is trying to sell more of them, and you’re caught in the middle. Just be sure you know the odds, and before you take bisphosphonates, make sure you correct and maintain your dental health. Also, remember what my mother told me as I went off to college, “Drugs are not the answer.” There are many alternative, natural methods of correcting and preventing osteoporosis that are just as effective, so take control of your own health and research and study these things so you can make the choice that is best for you.
Dr. Moulton’s article was published in the Desert Valley Times, December 2007
Tags: Actonel, Aredia, bisphosphonates, blood acidity, bone cancer, Boniva, cortisone, decreased bone density, estrogen therapy, Forteo, Fosamax, glucocorticoids, hormone imbalance, low bone density, necrosis, osteoblasts, osteoclasts, prednisolone dexamethesone, prednisone, rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosis, Zometa
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A Hard Subject
Tuesday, June 30th, 2009
Did you know that bone is considered an organ? I don’t know if each individual bone is an organ or the skeletal system as a whole, but it is an interesting and complex tissue that plays an important role to your teeth as well as the rest of your body. It might seem like a hard, inert substance, but it is actually a live and vital tissue. It houses many types of cells, a blood supply and nerves, and it is in a constant state of flux and regeneration. There are basically four types of bone tissue in the body: 1) compact or cortical bone which comprises the thick outer covering, 2) trabecular bone which is the honeycomb inner bone, 3) marrow, which is the soft middle that produces blood cells, and 4) a specialized type of bone tissue called alveolar bone which supports the teeth. We will cover alveolar bone next time.
As a tissue, bone is subject to disease and should receive the proper care and maintenance. To appreciate this, it might help to understand what goes on in there. Your bone is constantly being remodeled in response to its environmental conditions. Cells called osteoclasts dissolve the calcium phosphate structure of the bone and return it to the blood. Osteoblasts are cells which deposit the calcium back into the bone. In this way, the shape and density of the bone can be altered as the body’s demands vary. For instance, if you do a lot of weight-bearing exercise, as well as your muscle mass increasing, your bone density will also increase to meet the requirement for more strength.
This touches on the subject of the most common disease of the bone, low bone density, or osteoporosis. The cause is simple chemistry. If the blood becomes too acidic, it will dissolve the minerals out of your tissues, the most common one being the calcium phosphate in your bones. The reason for acid blood is another easy one to figure out; it’s just what goes into your body. Different things have been shown to have an effect on the blood pH, or acid level.
Let’s start with the things that make your blood too acidic. At the very top of the list are drugs. I’m not just talking methamphetamines, but over-the-counter and prescription drugs also. The mechanism by which drugs enter your muscles, nervous system and brain is called a pH gradient. The blood must become more acidic than those other tissues in order to ‘download’ the drug. To be very effective, every drug must cause the blood to become acidic, and the more acidic, the faster and more potent the drug’s effects will be. Obviously, psychotropic drugs like meth and LSD are quite destructive. The constant and prolonged use by the meth addict leaves him emaciated, literally dissolving him from the inside. But caffeine, tobacco, and alcohol are also very potent drugs associated with constant and prolonged use. They all cause the blood to become very acidic. I might be sounding a little picky, but remember where we’re going with this. That acidity in your blood must be neutralized, and your body does it with the calcium from your bones!
A close second on the list of things that make your blood acidic is soda pop. The carbonation, caffeine, sugar, and phosphoric acid drive your blood acidity through the roof. Diet soda is every bit as bad, and energy drinks like Red Bull and Rock Star are the absolute worst in that category. So called “soft” drinks are so harmful that they should only be available by prescription, and then no doctor in his right mind would prescribe it for you. So you need to be your own doctor and don’t give yourself permission to buy soda for you or your children.
Constant exposure to fluoride replaces the calcium in your bones making them more brittle. According to the Journal of the American Medical Association, there is an increase in hip fractures in areas with water fluoridation.
Food wise, you can pretty much guess how they affect your blood pH. Sugar, artificial sweeteners, additives, and processed foods will make your blood more acid. Conversely, natural raw fruits, vegetables, whole milk, and eggs will not only reduce the acidity, but provide a natural source of minerals that will replenish your body.
Who gets osteoporosis and what do you do about it? You don’t wake up one day and BAM, you have osteoporosis. That last Coke didn’t just push you over the edge. It’s a disease of the elderly because it takes a lifetime of sodas, coffee, cigarettes, martinis, and finally, that shopping list of prescription medications. Of course, the sooner in life you break the pattern, the better chance you have to preserve the integrity and health of your bones. But it is never too late to take charge. Take responsibility for your health! Eat properly and exercise. Look up your prescriptions on the internet and see if they interact with each other, and you decide if you want to gamble on the side effects. It’s appalling to see drug companies try to induce people to use drugs they don’t even need on TV and tragically comical to listen to the required disclaimers. “You might turn blue and burst into flames, but go ahead and try it. It may be just what you need!” Most of my patients that take aspirin are self-medicating because of a TV ad. Don’t do that!
Many physicians have gone drugless and have written books to expose the drug companies’ control of American health care. In Dr. Jerry Avorn’s book, ‘Selling Sickness’, he talks about how drug companies invent diseases so they can sell more drugs. In his book, ‘Taking Control of Your Health’, Dr. Joseph Mercola says, “the most common cause of death in America is the fatally flawed medical system that focuses on using toxic and expensive pharmaceutical band-aids that in no way, shape, or form treat the underlying cause of the disease.”
I believe there certainly is a place for drugs such as medical emergencies, serious infections and high blood pressure, but not as a way of life. The price tag is too high. They are poisonous to your body. Their side effects are usually much worse than any benefit or relief they claim to give. They are pulling the calcium out of your bones and redistributing it into your kidneys, gall bladder, and joints, leaving your bones weak and crippling your body.
Next week we will talk about what drugs are being peddled for osteoporosis and their alarming effects.
Dr. Moulton’s article was published in the Desert Valley Times, December 2007
Tags: acid level, alcohol, alveolar bone, artificial sweeteners, blood acidity, blood pH, bone tissue, caffeine, calcium, calcium phosphate, carbonation, compact bone, cortical bone, Dr. Joseph Mercola, eggs, fluoride, hposphoric acid, Jerry Avorn, Journal of the American Medical Association, low bone density, LSD, marrow, methamphetamines, milk, natural raw fruits, osteoblasts, osteoclasts, Osteoporosis, pH gradient, prescription drugs, processed foods, psychotropic drugs, Red Bull, Rock Star, soda pop, tobacco, trabecular bone, vegetables
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