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INNOVATIONS
Researchers from Zymo-Genetics Inc., a Seattle biotechnology company, have identified three new compounds, each of which stimulates new bone growth in animals. If they prove to do the same in humans, these chemicals could become an important treatment for osteoporosis, which affects an estimated 15 million Americans.
Osteoporosis is caused by increased bone breakdown without new bone formation. Current treatments help retard bone loss, but they are unable to replace what is already gone. To find drugs that increase bone density, the researchers screened tens of thousands of compounds for their ability to build up bones. The researchers are now testing three candidates that are easy to make and can be put into pill form.
(Fonte: BUSINESS WEEK , April 12, 1999. p. 61.)
No texto 1, no primeiro parágrafo, a informação “15 million” refere-se ao
