Summary
Diabetes: restoring jaw bone growth
A combination of vitamin D3 and the hormone calcitonin may restore normal growth of the lower jaw bone in young patients with diabetes. Diabetes impairs the growth of bones, including those of the head and face, potentially causing dental problems in young patients. Vitamin D3, which is produced by human skin exposed to sunlight, is known to improve survival of cells that build new bone; calcitonin is known to decrease the activity of cells that resorb bone. Mona Abbassy at King Abdulaziz University in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, hypothesized that combining the two treatments could have synergistic effects and studied the effects in young rats, using molars as indicators of bone growth. Intermittent injections of vitamin D3 and calcitonin restored normal bone growth, and show promise for treatment of young patients with diabetes.