Rheumatology | Featured Specialties | UC Davis Health

Researchers at UC Davis Health and UC San Francisco have identified a molecule known as Maternal Brain Hormone (CCN3) that increases bone density and strength. Their study, published in Nature, explains how women’s bones remain strong during breastfeeding, despite calcium being stripped from bones to support milk production. The discovery has the potential to treat bone conditions like osteoporosis.

Researchers at UC Davis Health have introduced a new approach to identify systemic inflammation in patients diagnosed with psoriatic arthritis, rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis, using a medical imaging technique with significantly lower radiation exposure. The researchers utilized UC Davis Health’s Total-Body PET Scanner, the first FDA-approved scanner of its kind in the United States.

UC Davis Health rheumatology and orthopedic researchers discovered that a protein called Basigin plays a critical role in bone deterioration during long-term steroid use. By blocking the protein in skeletal stem cells, they were able to prevent and restore bone strength in mice, even under glucocorticoid exposure. The findings, published in Nature Communications, suggest a potential path for treating conditions like age-related osteoporosis and protecting bone health during steroid therapy.