Researchers have found a vitamin D like compound which can create new bone in animal tests and lab cultures.
Vitamin D can be used to treat osteoporosis, but its bone-building capacity is limited. Chemists at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have created an analog compound of vitamin D called 2MD and find it can stimulate the growth of bone-forming cells.

They gave 2MD to rats who had a bone condition mimicking osteoporosis. The compound led to a nine per cent increase in total bone mass and an impressive 25 per cent increase in bone mass in the vertebrae. Loss of vertebral bone is the cause of the characteristic spinal curvature in people with osteoporosis. The compound also stimulates bone cell growth in laboratory cultures.

It's too soon to say if 2MD will work in humans, say the researchers. If it does, then it may well be an attractive alternative to hormone replacement therapy for post-menopausal women at risk of osteoporosis.