New bone imaging technique driving potential improvements to osteoporosis treatment

Led by Dr. David Cooper, the research team leveraged the use of the BMIT beamline of the Canadian Light Source at the University of Saskatchewan in order to view the incredibly tiny pores inside cortical bone—the dense outer surface of bone that accounts for the majority of bone mass. These pores change over time, showing how bone tissue is continuously removed and replaced.

Using parathyroid hormone, the team of researchers stimulated bone in order to facilitate changes, tracking these changes over the course of a two-week period.

It’s estimated that somewhere in the region of 2.3 million Canadians are stricken by the often times debilitating effects of osteoporosis—a condition that results in undue physical anguish for those impacted by it, and billions of dollars of economic burden for the country.

However, a research team from the College of Medicine at the University of Saskatchewan recently made a significant breakthrough that could serve to be a real game-changer concerning the study and treatment of the disease. By developing a new and unique approach to imaging that enables the detection of alterations in bone tissue more quickly and efficiently than traditional bone densitometry scans, potential improvements related to drug treatments may be made possible.

Dr. Cooper , who’s been studying within this particular area for more than a decade, explains that by using micro-computed tomography (micro-CT), researchers were able to, for the very first time ever, see the shapes of the cortical bone pores and track their changes over time. It’s a breakthrough that is set to establish a completely new way of looking at bone turnover, he says, adding that the speed at which detection in changes can be made could have a substantial impact on the ways in which drugs are used in the treatment of osteoporosis in the future.

Halifax bioscience labs receive $1.7 million in government funding

It was recently announced that the Atlantic Canada biosciences sector is set to receive a boost with an injection of $1.7 million in funding from the Canadian federal government.

The funding, as part of the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency’s (ACOA) Regional Economic Growth through Innovation program, will serve to help Halifax startups get a leg up in their research and related work.

Three companies will share the funding. ClearDynamic, which developed a non-invasive remedy using microscopic glass balls injected into the bloodstream to block nerve pain in joints, will receive $950,000. Agada Biosciences, which specializes in testing drugs for rare muscle diseases, will receive $500,000. And NovaResp Technologies, which designs and develops state-of-the-art AI-powered sleep apnea assistance software, will receive $250,000.

The bioscience sector in the Atlantic provinces is a robust one, employing more than 10,000 people, according to Statistics Canada. Funding of this nature goes a long way toward ensuring the growth and success of those contributing to vital research and study.