SUNDAY, March 4 (HealthDay News) -- Vitamin E may stimulate cells that result in bone loss, a new study suggests.
Researchers led by Shu Takeda of Keio University in Tokyo said their findings could have implications for people who take vitamin E supplements.
The researchers explain that maintaining a balance between bone-forming cells (osteoblasts) and bone-degrading cells (osteoclasts) keeps bones strong. Although prior studies had suggested that vitamin E could be beneficial for bone health, the Japanese researchers found the opposite may be true, since the nutrient seems to trigger the production of bone-eroding osteoclasts.
A U.S. expert agreed with the hypothesis.
"Bone health is a dynamic tissue and issue," said Dr. Robert Graham, an internist at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City. "It is in a constant struggle between osteoblasts ... and osteoclasts."
Understanding this cellular battle "is crucial in understanding how vitamin E may affect our bone health," Graham said.
The new study, published online March 4 in Nature Medicine, revealed that mice deficient in vitamin E actually have higher bone mass because there is less bone breakdown. Meanwhile, healthy mice that were fed a diet with the amount of vitamin E found in typical human supplements lost bone mass.
The study has revealed "the opposite of what was traditionally believed," Graham said. "This is intriguing, because previous in vitro
