“ When bone needs more energy, it talks with the gut; if the gut is all spent, it’s time for osteoblast furlough. One candidate cross-link between the alimental and architectural is the hormone serotonin. Reporting last November in the journal Cell, Dr. Karsenty and his colleagues showed that if they slowed the release of serotonin from the gastrointestinal tract — which generates 95 percent of the body’s supply of the hormone, against 5 percent in the brain — they could prevent osteoporosis in mice, with no obvious side effects. And because the blood-brain barrier keeps the serotonin caches above and below the neck neatly compartmentalized, a similar approach might be tried in humans without inducing the sudden urge to reread “The Bell Jar.
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Natalie Angier, in “Basics - Bone, a Masterpiece of Elastic Strength” for the NY Times.
If I wasn’t already somewhat familiar with the author, the last sentence would make me wonder whether she was frustratingly bored with her subject or merely warming to it.
