title: Reducing iron accumulation: A potential approach for the prevention and treatment of postmenopausal osteoporosis.
abstract: Postmenopausal osteoporosis (PMOP) is a systemic bone metabolism disease, characterized by progressive bone loss following menopause and a subsequent increase in fracture risk. Estrogen deficiency as a result of menopause is known to increase bone resorption and accelerate bone loss. Furthermore, postmenopausal women may exhibit iron accumulation, in addition to estrogen deficiency. Elevated iron levels are a risk factor for PMOP in postmenopausal women, and reducing the iron overload has been demonstrated to benefit bone cell metabolismin vitroand improve the bonein vivoby normalizing osteoclastic bone resorption and formation. The identification of hepcidin was a key development in the field of iron metabolism in the previous decade. We hypothesize that hepcidin may aid in the prevention and treatment of PMOP due to its capacity to control body iron stores and its intrinsic effects on osteoblast function. The aim of the current review was to highlight the role of iron accumulation in the pathogenesis of PMOP and to evaluate the possible use of hepcidin as a potential therapy for this condition.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedics, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu 215004, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Bin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedics, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu 215004, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Guang-Fei
authors.initials: GF
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedics, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu 215004, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Ying
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Shen
authors.affiliation: Division of Rheumatology, NYU Hospital for Joint Diseases, New York, NY 10003, USA.
authors.forename: X I
authors.initials: XI
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedics, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu 215004, P.R. China.
authors.forename: You-Jia
authors.initials: YJ
authors.lastname: Xu
keywords: hepcidin; iron; osteoporosis; postmenopause