News tagged with osteoclasts

Osteoclast

An osteoclast (from the Greek words for "bone" (Οστό) and "broken" (κλαστός)) is a type of bone cell that removes bone tissue by removing its mineralized matrix and breaking up the organic bone (organic dry weight is 90% collagen). This process is known as bone resorption. Osteoclasts were discovered by Kolliker in 1873. Osteoclasts and osteoblasts are instrumental in controlling the amount of bone tissue: osteoblasts form bone, osteoclasts resorb bone. Osteoclasts are formed by the fusion of cells of the monocyte-macrophage cell line. Osteoclasts are characterized by high expression of tartrate resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP) and cathepsin K.

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New osteoporosis drug combination outperforms current alternatives

A combination of two FDA-approved osteoporosis drugs with different mechanisms of action was found to increase bone density better than treatment with either drug alone in a small clinical trial. As reported in paper receiving ...

Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes created May 14, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0 | with audio podcast