This month’s Save Our Bones Bulletin brings you breaking news from the realms of stem cell research, mental approaches to physical pain, and a shocking revelation regarding a widely used sweetener.

First, we’ll delve into a study conducted on mice, which uncovered a pathway that regulates bone loss. The researchers believe this discovery could potentially revitalize bone regeneration in humans as well.

Next, you’ll discover a therapeutic approach that employs brain education to reduce or eliminate back pain.

Finally, we’ll review new troubling findings about the artificial sweetener aspartame.

Study On Mice Reveals Pathway That Regulates Age-Related Bone Loss

Researchers at the NYU Grossman School of Medicine discovered they could increase bone mass in mice by blocking a skeletal stem cell signaling pathway.

The signaling pathway under investigation is called Notch. This series of signals involves multiple compounds that interact in a particular sequence to determine the final form that skeletal stem cells will take.

The researchers studied the RNA sequencing in young and aged mouse bones to observe the relationship between activity in the Notch signaling pathway, aging, and bone formation.

Relevant Excerpt

”The researchers found the Notch pathway to become abnormally active, shifting the cells toward the fate that increases fatty degeneration of bone marrow. When they genetically engineered mice to lack Nicastrin, a core part of the Notch signaling chain reaction, it returned the stem cells to the bone-making cell pathway, and increased bone formation “even beyond that seen in young mice.”¹

This discovery sheds light on the ways in which stem cell signaling changes with age and can negatively impact bone health. Hopefully, with further study, we can learn how to naturally support this system to increase bone generation.

However, it is probable that the Notch pathway will become the target for new osteoporosis drugs.

Synopsis

Researchers found that blocking a compound in the skeletal stem cell signaling pathway could increase bone formation in mice. This change reversed the age-related decline in bone mass. It may become the target of new drug development.

Back Pain Isn’t In Your Head, But Relief Could Be

In a study on the impacts of pain perception, two-thirds of participants reduced or eliminated their back pain after learning to interpret pain signals as less harmful.

The study participants underwent pain reprocessing therapy, which taught them to reinterpret pain signals to the brain. By understanding their brain’s role in creating the experience of pain, they were able to lessen or end the pain they were experiencing.

Relevant Excerpt

“This study is critically important because patients’ pain attributions are often inaccurate. We found that very few people believed their brains had anything to do with their pain,” says [lead study author] Dr. [Yoni] Ashar. “These results show that shifting perspectives about the brain’s role in chronic pain can allow patients to experience better results and outcomes.”

The team hopes that these findings will prompt medical professionals to discuss potential non-biomedical pain causes with their patients.”²

This study is an excellent example of how research can help to identify non-pharmaceutical interventions for common conditions.

Chronic pain is a serious and widespread problem. New approaches to treat it, without resorting to harmful and potentially addictive painkillers, could pave the way a for healthier relief options .

Synopsis

Research on pain reprocessing therapy has demonstrated that participants could alleviate or completely eliminate their back pain by learning to reinterpret pain signals. These findings validate the effectiveness of a non-pharmaceutical approach to pain relief.

Artificial Sweetener Aspartame Linked To Inheritable Problems

Researchers at the Florida State University College of Medicine linked the artificial sweetener aspartame to learning and memory problems in mice.

In the study, the male mice were given aspartame in amounts deemed safe by the FDA. However, they not only exhibited cognitive issues, but their offspring also demonstrated difficulties with spatial learning and memory.

Relevant Excerpt

”The mice in the study were split into three groups for 16 weeks. One group only drank water, the second group consumed water with aspartame equivalent to two diet sodas per day, and the third drank water with aspartame equal to four diet sodas per day.

The mice’s learning abilities were tested at various intervals using a Y-maze and a Barnes maze, where the mice had to locate a “safe” box among 40 options. Mice not given aspartame found the box quickly, while those that consumed the sweetener took considerably longer.”³

This study should give pause to diet soda drinkers. The effects of artificial sweeteners are clearly still coming to light– and they aren’t positive.

Instead of aspartame, opt for a natural sweetener like stevia leaf or monk fruit extract as a sugar replacement.

While this substitution is simple, it’s impossible to avoid every potentially toxic substance. In today’s world, we are surrounded by chemicals and artificial compounds.

You can give your body a break with the Osteoporosis Fresh Start Cleanse. It’s a rejuvenating 7-day program designed to jumpstart your body’s ability to maintain bones healthy.

Synopsis

A study with mice found that consuming aspartame reduced the mice's learning abilities. Furthermore, the effects were inherited by the mice's offspring. This shows that aspartame, commonly used to sweeten diet sodas, may have negative impacts on the brain.

What This Means To You

Some new research is likely to result in a fresh barrage of dangerous drugs, but other discoveries can help us build healthy habits. Talk with your doctor about non-pharmaceutical pain-management programs, and the next time you want something sweet, skip the aspartame.

These useful redirections may be small, but they add up to an enormous difference in your well-being.

The Osteoporosis Reversal Program applies a similar strategy. It isn’t a one-time quick fix or a magic trick. The ORP is a collection of tools and strategies that encompass diet, physical activity, and daily habits. This holistic approach constitutes the foundation of the ORP’s lasting success.

You don’t have to change everything in a day. But every day you can change something. Over time, you’ll find yourself transformed into the healthy, lively, independent person you have always aspired to be.

References

¹ https://www.genengnews.com/topics/translational-medicine/bone-loss-lessened-by-blocking-abnormal-stem-cell-signal/

² https://studyfinds.org/chronic-back-pain-brain/

³ https://studyfinds.org/aspartame-learning-memory/