Hi all!

Just got back from an academic half day, cant take any of the credit for this --- these papers were handed to me. That being said, I thought it was crucially important that I share this information with you.

Some of these papers are so new, that they arent even on PubMed yet (Evelyn, I didnt look too hard, so if you find them, please let me know). Anyhow, here's the big news.

A couple of papers have demonstrated that the cox-2 inhibitors might prevent bone repair. I should make the statement in advance that these studies were done in MICE models, not humans, so dont go throwing down your celebrex and vioxx in some ceremonious manner just yet. Especially not until you hear me out.

This article is on pubmed:

J Clin Invest 2002 Jun;109(11):1405-15
Cyclooxygenase-2 regulates mesenchymal cell differentiation into the osteoblast lineage and is critically involved in bone repair
Zhang X, Schwarz EM, Young DA, Puzas JE, Rosier RN, O'Keefe RJ

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=12045254&dopt=Abstract

The other that I cant find is:
Journal of Bone and Mineral Research 2002 Jun;17(6):963-?
Cycloxygenase-2 function is essential for bone fracture healing
Simon AM, Manigrasso MB, O'Connor JP.

Anyhow here's the big picture. If cox-2 inhibitors impair new bone growth then:

1. Will people on coxibs not heal well after a fracture?
2. Will people on coxibs with joint replacements not heal well after surgery?
3. Is this a complicating feature of erosive diseases (RA), making the situation worse than it was already?
4. Is this a potential therapy for diseases with bone growth (AS/OA)?

Some of you will likely ask; "Hey? Dont the old NSAIDs have some cox-2 inhibition as well?" Yes, of course they do, but so far, these two studies show that traditional NSAIDs slow the regrowth while the coxibs have much more severe results.

Now, please, let's not have a coxib revolt . I just wanted to pass this information on to everyone here. Especially anyone who's having joint replacement surgery or has had a recent fracture. It might be something to discuss with your doc. In the meantime, let's keep our eye on this research ---- might be interesting to see what comes of it over time.

Jeanna


Live simply. Give more. Expect less.

Edited by Strutsy on 06/06/02 01:27 PM (server time).