SCIENTISTS in Manchester have made a major breakthrough that could help millions of elderly patients suffering from the bone-wasting disease osteoporosis.

Researchers have discovered that a commonly-prescribed drug has the side-effect of making wasted bones grow back again.

The thiazide diuretic drug, which is given to patients with high blood pressure, appears to also repair the damage done by osteoporosis.

In some cases patientsé bones can grow back as strong and fast as a teenagerés in the prime of health.

The side-effect - discovered by Manchester University molecular physiologist Dr Daniela Riccardi and bone specialist at the University Dental Hospital, Dr Howard Carter - offers new hope to millions of osteoporosis sufferers in the UK.

Many elderly patients suffer from brittle bone disease and high blood pressure so the Manchester discovery could lead to the same drug being used to treat both conditions.

Osteoporosis weakens bones, making them easy to break or fracture.

It affects one in three women and one in ten men over the age of 50 in the UK.

There are drugs currently available to rebuild fragile bones but they all have side effects.

Scientists now hope that the thiazide diuretic drug - usually prescribed by doctors to lower blood pressure by ridding the body of excess fluid and salt - could be perfect for treating both conditions.

Now the team have been given é90,000 from the Arthritis Research Campaign to further study the drugés bone repairing powers before they test it out in patients.

Dr Riccardi said: éThis diuretic is already used worldwide - it has been on the market for the last 30 years. Doctors have previously thought that it could help people also suffering from osteoporosis, but no one understood why.

éIt was generally thought that the drug could reduce the loss of calcium from the kidney, but no one ever considered the possibility that this drug could affect the bone directly.

éWe have proven that this drug directly stimulates bone growth at the same rate as a younger person so your bones get much better in the long run. It is like killing two birds with one stone.é

High blood pressure is one of the biggest killers in the UK for those over 50 and osteoporosis kills more women than cancer of the ovaries, cervix and uterus combined every year.