Leptin: factor in the central nervous system regulation of bone mass. Development of a new understanding of bone remodeling, skeletal reconstruction, skeletal preservation, and skeletal repair

Bone remodeling is the physiologic process used by vertebrates to maintain a constant bone mass between the end of puberty and gonadal failure. Besides the well-characterized and critical local regulation of bone remodeling, recent genetic studies have shown that there is a central control of bone formation, one aspect of bone remodeling. This central regulation involves leptin, an adipocyte-secreted hormone that controls body weight, reproduction, and bone remodeling following binding to its receptor located on the hypothalamic nuclei. This genetic result in rodents is in line with clinical observations in humans and offers a whole new direction for research in bone physiology.