Murray Favus, M.D.

Bone Loss in Women; Molecular Regulation of Renal Metabolism of Vitamin D and Calcium, Pathogenesis of Calcium Metabolism in Calcium Kidney Stone Formation

Research Summary

In the area of calcium metabolism, he has identified increases in intestinal and bone vitamin D receptor content in genetic hypercalciuric kidney stone forming rats, an animal model of human idiopathic hypercalciuria. This description represents one of the first examples of a disorder (hypercalciuria and stone formation) caused by a pathologic excess of a steroid hormone. In other studies, Dr. Favus has defined the protein kinase C signaling pathway in rat renal proximal tubules as mediating parathyroid hormone stimulation of the 25-hydroxyvitamin D-1-hydroxylase, a key regulatory enzyme in the vitamin D activation pathway. By this work he was able to assign a pathway to one of parathyroid hormone’s many biologic actions. In clinical studies, Dr. Favus participated in the multi-center trial that found the bisphosphonate alendronate sodium to be effective in the treatment of postmenopausal osteoporosis and he continues to conduct clinical studies that aim to characterize novel approaches to the treatment of osteoporosis and disorders of calcium metabolism.

Selected Papers

Coe FL, Favus MJ. (editors) (2002). Disorders of Bone and Mineral Metabolism. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, Philadelphia, 2nd ed.

Cranney A, Tugwell P, Wells G, Guyatt G. the Osteoporosis Methodology Group, and the Osteoporosis Research Advisory Group (M.J. Favus is a member of this group). (2002). Section I: Systematic reviews of randomized trials in osteoporosis: Introduction and methodology. Endocrine Reviews 23:497-507.

Cranney A, Guyatt G, Griffith L, Wells G, Tugwell P, Rosen C. The Osteoporosis Methodology Group, and the Osteoporosis Research Advisory Group (M.J. Favus is a member of this group). (2002). Section IX: Summary of meta-analyses of therapies for postmenopausal osteoporosis. Endocrine Reviews 23:497-507.

Vokes TJ, Dixon LB, Favus MJ. (2003). Clinical utility of dual energy vertebral assessment (DVA). Osteoporos Int, 14:871-8.

Lai WP, Chau TS, Cheung PY, Chen WF, Lo SC, Favus MJ. Wong MS. (2003). Adaptive responses of 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 1 alpha hydroxylase expression to dietary phosphate restriction in young and adult rats. Biochim Biophys Acta 1639:34-42.

Favus MJ and Vokes TJ. (2004). Paget’s disease and other dysplasias of the bone. Harrison’s Principles of Internal Medicine, 16th edition. In press.