The People with Unbreakable Bones

In 1995, a teenage girl was in a serious car accident, but somehow made it out unscathed. When doctors looked at her X-rays, they spotted something strange... Her bones were extraordinarily dense - and virtually unbreakable.

00:00 – Family 1 - Nebraska
00:41 – What is bone density?
01:18 – Family 2 - Connecticut
01:54 – LRP5 gene mutation
02:32 – When high bone density is dangerous

#sciencefacts #humanbody #bonedensity #genetics

References:
Anderson et al., 2017, 'Both men and women need strong bones, but their skeletons grow differently across ages'
Boudin et al., 2016, 'Genetic control of bone mass'
Gregson et al., 2011, '‘Sink or swim’: an evaluation of the clinical characteristics of individuals with high bone mass'
Gregson et al., 2013, 'The high bone mass phenotype is characterised by a combined cortical and trabecular bone phenotype: Findings from a pQCT case-control study'
Gregson & Duncan, 2020, 'The Genetic Architecture of High Bone Mass'
Johnson et al., 1997, 'Linkage of a Gene Causing High Bone Mass to Human Chromosome 11 (11q12-13)'
Licata, 2009, 'Bone density vs bone quality: What's a clinician to do?'
Little et al., 2002, 'A Mutation in the LDL Receptor–Related Protein 5 Gene Results in the Autosomal Dominant High–Bone-Mass Trait'
Littman et al., 2023, 'LRP5, Bone Mass Polymorphisms and Skeletal Disorders'
Norwitz et al., 2019, 'LRP5, Bone Density, and Mechanical Stress: A Case Report and Literature Review'
Physiopedia, 2025, 'Bone Density'
Rizzoli et al., 2010, 'Maximizing bone mineral mass gain during growth for the prevention of fractures in the adolescents and the elderly'
Schneider, 2013, 'Imaging of Osteoporosis'
Sebastian & Loots, 2018, 'Genetics of Sost/SOST in sclerosteosis and van Buchem disease animal models'

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