AChEIs for osteoporosis treatment

. Acetylcholinesterase as a novel therapeutic target for osteoporosis.

Osteoporosis, characterized by bone loss and microstructural deterioration, represents a major global public health problem with increasing grey population. Its most worrying complication is the life-threatening hip fracture. However, current anti-osteoporosis treatment fails to lower the incidence of hip fracture in very older adults, which prompts researchers to discover new drugs to address this unmet need.

In recent years, there has been a growing interest in repositioning the FDA-approved anti-Alzheimer’s acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibitors for osteoporosis treatment. Use of AChE inhibitors was associated with the reduced risk of hip fracture, enhanced osteoporotic fracture healing and decreased overall mortality in the elderly Alzheimer’s patients. Yet the exact role of AChE in bone homeostasis and diseases remains equivocal until very recently.

Under the auspices of Jockey Club Smart Ageing Hub and University Research Facility on Behavioral and Systemic Neuroscience, we will liaise with Jockey Club Centre for Osteoporosis Care and Control to longitudinally monitor the effects of donepezil on bone mineral density as well as cerebral blood flow in MCI or demented patients.

Principal Investigator

Dr. Chunyi WEN
Department of Biomedical Engineering

Representative Publications

Chan B, Wen CY. Spontaneous hypertensive rat exhibits bone and meniscus phenotypes of osteoarthritis: is it an appropriate control for MetS-associated OA? Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases 2017 Aug 10. pii: annrheumdis-2017-211995. doi: 10.1136/annrheumdis-2017-211995. (IF = 12.811)
Ma, F, Liu N, Hu N, Wen CY, Tang B. “Synthesis of strontium chondroitin sulfate and the evaluation of its capability to attenuate osteoarthritis”. Carbohydrate Polymers, 2017(170): 217-225. (IF = 4.811)
Sin A, Tang W, Wen C, Chung SK, Chiu KY. The emerging role of endothelin-1 in the pathogenesis of subchondral bone disturbance and osteoarthritis. Osteoarthritis & Cartilage 2015 Apr;23(4):516-24. (IF = 4.742)
Wen CY, Lohmander L. S. Does post-injury ACL reconstruction prevent future OA? Rev. Rheumatol. 2014 Oct;10(10):577-8. (IF = 12.188)
Zhen GH, Wen CY, Jia XF, Li Y, Mears S, Askin F, Frassica F, Chang W, Crane J, Yao J, Nayfeh T, Johnson C, Artemov D, Cosgarea A, Carrino J, Wan M, Lu W and Cao X. Inhibition of TGFβ signaling in subchondral bone mesenchymal stem cells prevents onset of osteoarthritis. Nature Medicine 2013 Jun; 19(6): 704-12.(IF = 30.357)