According to the findings of a new research, published in the February 7 edition of the journal Nature Medicine, the hormone serotonin can form the potential basis for treating osteoporosis, a common bone-thinning disease.

The researchers at the Columbia University Medical Center have discovered that an experimental drug called LP533401 can play a vital role in blocking the production of serotonin, a natural chemical in the gut that is associated with mood-related functions in the brain.

Upon treating mice and rats with LP533401, the researchers found that the drug stopped the gut from synthesizing serotonin; thereby bringing about a notable reversal in severe bone loss and effectively curing osteoporosis in the animals.

The researchers, who had included small once-a-day doses of the experimental drug in the diets of the animals for nearly one and a half months, opined that the effects of serotonin prevention will essentially be similar in humans too.

In another round of studies, the researchers discovered that LP533401 treatment can also prevent osteoporosis in female rodents after their ovaries had been surgically removed to ape post-menopausal stage in women.

The researchers also confirmed that LP533401 not only reversed severe bone loss in animals, but also helped in building new bone.

Commenting on the findings, Gerard Karsenty of Columbia University said that though the research “is promising; we have a lot more research to do.”