A new study conducted at the Medical College of Georgia in Augusta, GA disclosed that other than estrogen, another hormone-follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) may also be involved in lowering bone mineral denseness in menopause.

Decreased denseness of bones is common among menopausal women and increases the chances of osteoporosis, bone cracking and later complications.

Earlier, researches concentrated on therapies, which try to preserve the estrogen level inside the body. This hormone appears to carry on bone health, but it comes down to a really low level during and after menopause.

Dr. Joseph Cannon stated that the FSH level raises step by step in 5 years leading up to menopause, when it attains its peak and estradiol bottoms out.

Study has suggested that bone density starts to diminish over the same period of time.

Moreover, statistics from animal researches showed a connection between FSH level and bone denseness that made the scientists to examine whether the increase of FSH has an effect on bone density in human beings.

During menopausal bone loss, the osteoclasts' destructive activity overbalances the osteoblasts' reconstructing activity, causing an overall weakening of the bone.

Cytokines, which are released by WBC like monocytes, are said to play a role in this instability. One cytokine in particular, interleukin-1 beta (IL-1), is known to activate osteoclasts.

Dr. Cannon said, "Our hypothesis was that [FSH] was decreasing bone mineral density by influencing the production or action of cytokines."

To examine their hypothesis, the scientists carried out a research of 36 females aged 20 to 50 years.

By evaluating each woman's FSH level and then utilizing a low-energy x-ray to examine her bone denseness, the scientists saw that superior FSH levels among the women were indeed linked with lower bone density.

With the results available, the scientists wanted to eamine the effects of FSH on a cellular level.

They amassed blood samples from thepartakers and isolated the monocytes to check the effect of FSH on cells outside of the body.

They found that the monocytes, which produce make IL-1 have receptors for FSH.

The results of the research will be released during the American Physiological Society''s Experimental Biology 2010 conference in Anaheim. (With Inputs from Agencies)