An experimental cancer drug called CADD522 has been found to strengthen bones and reduce fat gain in post-menopausal mice, offering a potential new approach to treating osteoporosis, a disease that affects around one in three women over 50. Unlike many existing treatments, which work by suppressing bone loss and can cause complications with long-term use, the drug appears to stimulate new bone growth without disrupting the body's natural bone renewal process, according to researchers at the University of East Anglia.

The study, published in the journal npj Drug Discovery, treated mice that had undergone surgery mimicking menopause with CADD522 for eight weeks, resulting in increased bone volume and better-preserved internal bone structure. Treated mice also weighed less and had less body fat despite eating the same amount as untreated mice, and the drug appeared to reverse some menopause-related changes in brain fatty acids. Safety tests in mice, rats and dogs showed the drug could be taken orally and was well tolerated, though researchers caution the work is still at an early, animal-only stage.