Osteoporosis sufferers may find relief in the future, thanks in part to the research of three West Virginia University professors.

Philip E. Keeting, associate professor of biology, in the WVU Eberly College of Arts and Sciences, has been studying the influence of estrogen on bone cell biology as the principal investigator on a $520,000 grant awarded by the National Institute on Aging, one of the National Institutes of Health, in Bethesda, Md.

Keeting, David Blaha, professor and chair of orthopedics, and Marc Kantorow, assistant professor of biology, have focused their research on characterizing the physical changes leading to osteoporosis in order to improve treatment and prevention.

Keeting explains that the combined activity of the bone-forming cells, known as osteoblast, and the activity of cells that degrade the bone, known as osteoclast, maintain the skeleton. For healthy adults, the process of formation and degradation of bone occur in balance with each other.

In some cases, bone degradation accelerates, while bone formation fails to keep up. This imbalance could lead to osteoporosis, a disease characterized by frequent bone fractures caused by mild trauma such as shaking hands or coughing. The disease is most common in post-menopausal women.

Keeting says that one major breakthrough they have already made has been in identifying fundamental distinctions between male and female bone cells, which may relate to the difference in the formation of new bone.

His research has been funded by the NIA since 1992, and this current grant provides him with funding over a three-year period. He says he and his colleagues will continue seeking to understand how estrogen affects bones with hopes of eventually aiding in the design of more effective treatments for osteoporosis.

“Within this decade, we will have a more effective approach for the treatment of osteoporosis,”he says.

Keeting expressed thanks to the Eberly College for providing new faculty members with start-up money to properly equip laboratories.

“The institution has supported many aspects of my research,”he says.”I just wanted to work in an area where I would be working to make a contribution to people’s health and well-being.”