Roles for osteocalcin in brain signalling: implications in cognition- and motor-related disorders
A hormone made by bone, osteocalcin, helps regulate blood sugar, mood, memory and movement by acting on the brain as well as the rest of the body. In animal and human data, low osteocalcin is linked with diabetes‑like metabolism, anxiety‑ and depression‑like behaviour, poorer learning and memory, and Parkinson’s‑like movement problems, while giving osteocalcin can improve these features in models. The authors propose that common age‑related issues such as osteoporosis, cognitive decline, sarcopenia, Parkinson’s disease and diabetes may share a common ground in low osteocalcin and suggest this “osteocalcinopathy” deserves more study as a therapeutic target.
Why this matters for menopause: it shows bone acting as a hormone‑secreting organ that helps the brain adapt in later life, and links bone, metabolism, mood and cognition in one network, which fits a view of post‑menopause as an integrated biological adaptation rather than just oestrogen deficiency.
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This study looked at more than 7,000 women over 60 in the US (NHANES 2005–2020) to understand how the age at menopause relates to depression in later life,…
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3,000 women were followed for 10 years to ask a simple question: does the menopausal transition itself increase the risk of significant anxiety symptoms? What was…
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This long-term study followed 233 women from before menopause to after their final period to see how different types of anxiety relate to hot flushes.…
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This study followed 122 late peri‑ and postmenopausal women (average age 59) to see how their sleep relates to early brain changes that raise the…
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An analysis of whether “moderate” alcohol intake (even within current guidelines) is linked to higher iron in the brain and, in turn, to worse cognitive…
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Age‑related cognitive decline, including Alzheimer’s disease, can be understood as a myelin problem rather than only a “plaques and tangles” problem. Myelin is the fatty insulation around…
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In a small number of animal species, females cease reproducing long before the end of their natural lifespan. A prolonged post‑reproductive life stage is exceptionally…
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Copper has two key properties that are being exploited in consumer and medical device products in the last decade. On the one hand, copper has…
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While osteoporosis and psychological stress occur via differing mechanisms, there are several potential molecular links that exist between a pathological response to stress and the…
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Excess glucocorticoids are well recognised as a cause of osteoporosis; they inhibit osteoblast function and increase osteoblast and osteocyte apoptosis resulting in thinning of the…
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Osteoporosis, a consequence of menopause in the biological cycle of women, emerges with the conclusion of reproductive capabi lities.Hormonal changes during this phase contribute to…
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The purpose of this study was to determine the longitudinal association between menopausal vasomotor symptoms (VMS) and urinary N-telopeptide level (NTX) according to menopausal stage. We…
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Objective: To determine whether women with vasomotor symptoms (VMS) have lower bone mineral density (BMD) than women without VMS. Design We analyzed data from baseline…
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Background: Osteocalcin, has high affinity for calcium. In osteoporotic women, deficiency of calcium may lead to lowering of the formation of hydroxyapatite crystals. Thus, in the…
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A severe impairment of cognitive function characterizes dementia. Mild cognitive impairment represents a transition between normal cognition and dementia. The frequency of cognitive changes is…