Dr. Marc McKee, of McGill's Faculty of Dentistry, is
collaborating closely with Enobia Pharma Inc., a Quebec biotech
company, to develop innovative treatments for serious genetic bone
diseases. McKee's research looks into the reasons why
calcium-phosphate mineral fails to crystallize properly to form
strong bones and teeth. While osteoporosis later in life is an
example of bone density deficiency, this research applies to
patients, especially children, who never properly mineralized their
skeletons to begin with, and thus have frequent bone fractures,
difficulty breathing because of soft ribs, and tooth loosening and
premature tooth loss. The disease is called hyposphophatasia,
and patients under treatment in clinical trials with the new drug
developed in a partnership between Dr. McKee and Enobia Pharma are
showing marked improvement.
To read more, please visit:
http://www.mcgill.ca/newsroom/news/item/?item_id=115223