• Home
  • MyECTS
  • Become a member
  • Contact us

Ectsoc

Ecstoc.org

MENUMENU
  • About
    • Mission & Vision
    • Governance & Transparency
    • Board of Directors
    • Annual General Meeting
    • Committees and Action Groups
      • Executive Committee
      • Communications Committee
      • Community Engagement Committee
      • ECTS Academy
      • Education Committee
      • Clinical Science Committee
      • Research Committee
      • Scientific Programme Committee 2025
    • ECTS Team
    • Membership
      • Individual Membership
      • Corporate Supporters
      • Join us
      • Affiliated Societies
  • ECTS 2025
  • Events
    • Upcoming Congresses
    • Past Congress
    • ECTS Academy Charity Event
    • ICCBH
    • Events
  • Grants & Awards
  • Education
    • PhD Training Course
    • Clinical Training Course in Metabolic Bone Diseases
    • Rare Bone Diseases Webinars
    • Education Resource Center
    • Bone Muscle & Beyond Webinars
    • ECTS-Mellanby Training Course
    • Calendar ECTS Educational Events
  • ECTS Academy
    • About the ECTS Academy
    • ECTS Academy – Members
    • Call for Applications - Basic Scientists
    • Call for Applications - Clinicians
    • ECTS Academy Activities
      • NI Conference Program
      • ECTS Academy Webinar Series
      • ECTS Academy Mentoring Options
      • ECTS Academy Charity Run
    • Visit the ECTS Academy website
  • News
    • ECTS Newsletter
    • News
    • Press Release
    • Image Library
    • Video Library
    • Job Advertisements
You are here: Home / Mediaroom / How stress and depression can lead to unhealthy bones – but only for males

May 18 2016

How stress and depression can lead to unhealthy bones – but only for males

  • New rodent study uncovers novel mechanism by which chronic stress leads to bone loss
  • Study also finds the phenomenon restricted to males
Holger Henneicke at work
Holger Henneicke at work

May 18, 2016, Rome, Italy. Press Dispensary. A new study has helped to unveil the mystery of why chronic stress and depression can lead to bone loss and increase the risk of fractures. The effect of chronic stress on the health of bones is already known but how one leads to the other is not entirely understood. The study, whose results have just been announced by Holger Henneicke of the University of Sydney, set out to investigate the mechanism.

Dr Henneicke was speaking to an audience of specialists at ECTS 2016, the 43rd annual congress of the European Calcified Tissue Society (ECTS) being held in Rome. He described how the study examined the impact of chronic stress on skeletal metabolism and structure in mice, comparing a group of wildtype mice with a group in which the signals of a hormone, suspected of being responsible, had been disrupted.

Holger Henneicke said: “We know stress and depression are linked to poor bone health but not how one results in the other, so we set out to determine the role played by stress hormones, known as glucocorticoids, in the cells which synthesise bone.

“Eight week old male and female mice were exposed to chronic but mild stress. In some mice, the glucocorticoid signalling was selectively disrupted in bone-forming osteoblasts, while their littermates were left ‘wild’.”

There was also a control group not exposed to the mild stress.

Dr Henneicke continued: “After four weeks of stress exposure, the mice were examined and a portion of the spine – the L3-vertebrae – plus tibia and blood were analysed.

“When compared to the non-stressed control group, the wildtype mice, with normal intact stress hormone signalling, experienced a loss of bone mass in the analysed vertebrae and a reduction in the area of the tibial cortex, as well as an increase in the activity of osteoclasts, a type of bone cell that breaks down bone tissue for maintenance and repair purposes. Meanwhile, the stressed mice whose glucocorticoid signalling had been disrupted did not experience this effect.

“And interestingly, this only applied to males. In stressed females, neither the vertebral nor tibial structures were affected.”

Mr Henneicke concluded: “So in male mice, glucocorticoid signalling in osteoblasts and the subsequent activation of osteoclasts is part of what lies behind bone loss during chronic mild stress.

“In female mice, it is a different story altogether, chronic stress did not seem to influence bone health and we are currently looking into why not.”

– ends –

Click here for More info

Copyright 2016 ECTS - Disclaimer - Cookies Policy - Privacy Policy - Privacy Centre - Terms of use - Contact us