Dr. Marc Grynpas 
SENIOR INVESTIGATOR

Osteoporosis – a disease of porous bone – is a major health problem facing our aging population. Characterized by low bone mass and tissue deterioration, this disease leads to increased bone fragility and risk of fracture. Hip fractures are the most common – and the most alarming. In 1993, there were more than 17,000 osteoporosis-related hip fractures – 50 per cent leading to disability and 20 per cent resulting in death within a year– a number that is expected to rise. With one in four women suffering from osteoporosis, the cost of treating it and its associated fractures tops more than $1.9 billion in Canada.

Dr. Marc Grynpas, a Senior Scientist at the Samuel Lunenfeld Research Institute, has focused his career on developing new insights into the factors that contribute to bone loss, which leads to osteoporosis. His research into bone loss – which ultimately asks the question, why do bones break? – will lead to better treatments and prevention for bone loss and will develop new therapeutic strategies to prevent bone fractures.

One of Dr. Grynpas’ research efforts concentrates on the long-term effect of bisphosphonates – a family of drugs used to prevent and treat osteoporosis, commonly in postmenopausal women – on bone. Dr. Grynpas is investigating the impact of these drugs on bones as well as their therapeutic use to prevent loosening of hip and knee implants. Building on that, the Grynpas lab is working to develop new biologic materials to replace current manufactured implants which have a limited life expectancy due to wear or loosening.

The Grynpas lab is also exploring some of the environmental factors that contribute to bone loss. One study has found that certain toxins found in cigarette tar causes bone loss in postmenopausal women, while another is studying whether or not lifelong ingestion of fluoride increases the risk of fractures in the elderly and why some people are more susceptible to fluoride effects than others.