
A recent study published in the journal Nature has identified a hormone that compensates for the low estrogen levels in lactating mothers, helping to maintain strong bones.
The researchers conducted studies on mice to explore when the brain releases this naturally-occurring compound and how it functions. Their findings reveal a new tool the body uses to trigger bone growth under certain circumstances.
We’ll review the study and what it may mean for the future of osteoporosis treatment.
Bone Strength, Menopause, And Estrogen
Breastfeeding mothers and post-menopausal women share a very specific and significant hormonal train: low estrogen levels.
Estrogen regulates bone formation, promoting strong and high quality bones. The reduced estrogen levels in postmenopausal women are a natural age-related driver of bone loss.
After giving birth, during breastfeeding, estrogen levels also become drastically lower. However, during breastfeeding, women do not usually experience bone loss. This seeming contradiction has long been a mystery.
However, new research has uncovered a previously unidentified hormone produced by the brain during lactation. This hormone activates the bone building process to maintain and recover bone mass in breastfeeding women.1
Synopsis
Breastfeeding mothers and post-menopausal women both experience a dramatic reduction in estrogen levels, but in breastfeeding mothers, the estrogen drop doesn't result in bone loss. New research has solved this mystery– a previously unidentified hormone released during lactation activates the bone-building process.
A Maternal Brain Hormone
The hormone in question is a brain-derived chemical called cellular communication network factor 3 (CCN3). This factor has been observed before, but scientists thought it functioned locally and thus didn't qualify as a hormone.
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The study reveals that the chemical is a hormone: a messenger traveling through the bloodstream to deliver instructions to specific cells. CCN3 is released in breastfeeding mothers, whose estrogen levels are greatly reduced.1
This newly understood hormone signals skeletal stem cells to increase their frequency and potential to generate new and strong bone material. The researchers discovered that this process not only leads to denser bones, but also to stronger, higher-quality bones.1
Synopsis
Researchers have discovered that a brain-derived chemical called cellular communication network factor 3 (CCN3) is a hormone that travels from the brain through the bloodstream to instruct skeletal stem cells to ramp up production of new bone material. CCN3 is primarily produced by the brains of breastfeeding mothers.
Maternal Brain Hormone Studied In Mice
While CCN3 has been observed in humans, this study was conducted on mice.
Researchers tested the effects of blocking CCN3 in lactating mice. Those mice experienced rapid bone loss, and their offspring were also malnourished.
Researchers also found that CCN3 could be applied locally to improve the rate and quality of bone repair after a bone fracture in mice.1
In petri dishes, they found that CCN3 stimulated both mouse and human skeletal stem cell activity, leading them to conclude that CCN3 plays the same role in humans as in mice. They also found that the hormone increased bone remodeling and accelerated fracture repair in young and old mice of both sexes.1
The researchers suggest that this hormone will be targeted for the development of new osteoporosis drugs. Before that can begin, CCN3 must be more carefully studied in humans.
Currently, there is no way to know whether a drug based on CCN3 would function, or what sort of risks it would carry.
Synopsis
In studies with lactating mice, when CCN3 was blocked the mice lost bone. Applying CCN3 locally helped improve rate and quality of bone repair. Human skeletal stem cells in the lab also responded to CCN3. This hormone will likely be the target of new drug development, though it's too early to know whether it would be effective or what risks it could pose.
What This Means To You
We continue to learn about how our brains and bodies regulate the bone remodeling process. This new discovery may have useful non-pharmaceutical applications in the future.
However, we already know how to drive healthy increases in bone strength and quality. The Osteoporosis Reversal Program is an in depth program that guides in the prevention and reversal of osteoporosis using a variety of non-pharmacological strategies. Through changes to diet, exercise, and lifestyle, you can provide your body what it needs to build denser, higher-quality bones.
When you improve your bone health naturally, your overall health will improve along with it. That’s the win-win result of a holistic approach to building bone.
My endo is telling me that I won’t be making any new bones at my age – 86 – no matter what I do and my best bet is Prolix or Actonel, neither of which I want to take. Is that true? And if so, what should I do? I take collagen, eat yogurt and cottage cheese every day plus cheese, am fairly active, take D3 and am taking the low-dose transdermal estrogen I’ve been taking since 1995, with a few off sessions. Recently developed kidney stones.
I have been using your progesterone cream for years to help me through menopause and for osteoporosis. I decided to use the 20-1 cream but I fi d it makes me put on weight. I know I need more oestrogen but should I just stick to t he progesterone ? I am 78 and do exercise but have still got low bo e density.
Dear Veronica,
We appreciate you as part of the Saver community and would like to clarify that we do not offer progesterone cream. Please check your email inbox within the next 24-48 hours for further clarification about this.
In excellent health,
Customer Support
What are your thoughts about the new findings that HRT( hormone replacement therapy) does not cause breast cancer and if taken could work to prevent osteoporosis much better than any of the toxic drugs doctors are prescribing? I have done my research, and I will be asking my doctor about it at my annual checkup. And my dxa scan numbers have improved every year thanks to exercise alone💪. Thanks for any thought. Mimi
Great question. I would like to know as well!
Short-term use of HRT seems to not significantly increase breast cancer risk, the decision to use HRT should be individualized, considering the patient’s overall health, the severity of menopausal symptoms, and specific risks and benefits.
While the decline in estrogen levels during menopause impacts bone density and quality, hormone replacement therapy (HRT) can help mitigate these effects but the risk must be carefully considered. At the Save Institute we don’t recommend HRT since there are simple and 100% safe ways to improve bone health. You mention how exercise improved your test results, so that’s further proof 🙂
Hi, thanks so much for all the info.
Are there any particular foods we could be eating to encourage CCN3…?
All the best,
Chandan
You’re welcome! To answer your question, the study researchers did not address that. Let’s remember that this is a very preliminary study using rats and not humans.