The NICHD conducts and supports a variety of clinical research related to bone health, calcium, and osteoporosis prevention. Select a link below to learn more about these projects.
Featured NICHD Clinical Trials
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The Bone Mineral Density in Childhood Study (BMDCS)
The BMDCS is a multicenter research consortium initiated in 2001 by the by the Pediatric Growth and Nutrition Branch. This six-year longitudinal study, which is no longer recruiting, provided valuable information on growth and pubertal maturation, nutrition and exercise and their effects on peak bone mass. It has fulfilled the urgent need for bone density reference data for children. This study was groundbreaking and provided the needed norms to push the field forward, enabling researchers to identify the effects of nutritional deficiency or excessive exercise on bone development. -
Fat Mediated Modulation of Reproductive and Endocrine Function in Young Athletes
One aim of this study is to determine whether transdermal or oral estrogen, compared to no estrogen, is effective in increasing bone density and improving bone microarchitecture in adolescent athletes who are not having periods and are estrogen deficient. The experimental intervention is a 17beta-estradiol transdermal patch twice weekly for 12 months; the active comparator is one estrogen plus progesterone pill daily for 21 days with placebo for 7 days, repeated for 12 months; and the sham comparator is calcium and vitamin D taken daily. -
Safety and Effectiveness of Oral Alendronate Therapy on Bone Mineral Density in HIV-infected Children and Adolescents with Low Bone Mineral Density
HIV-infected children, youth, and adults have lower bone mineral density (BMD) than would be expected for HIV-uninfected people of similar age, weight, and race. As the majority of perinatally HIV-infected U.S. children are entering or in adolescence, the potential for HIV-related impaired BMD during the adolescent peak of bone mass acquisition is of particular concern. The primary purpose of this study is to compare changes from pre-treatment levels of BMD of the lumbar spine after 24 and 48 weeks of alendronate treatment with placebo in HIV-infected children and adolescents. -
Growth Hormone Therapy in Osteogenesis Imperfecta (OI)
The goals of this study are to find a cause for the growth plateau common in OI and develop a treatment to eliminate this plateau; to see how long and how well OI bone will respond to growth stimulation; to find a predictor for who will or will not respond to growth hormone; to measure the effects of growth stimulation on bone density and the quality of OI bone; and to see if there are long-term benefits resulting from this treatment in the form of final adult height, trunk height, and improved respiratory function. -
Jump-In―Building Better Bones
This study will prospectively assess the effects of impact exercise on skeletal development in young girls, including bone mass, BMD, and bone geometry. We hypothesize that girls who regularly participate in impact-loading exercise will accrue greater skeletal mass, increase bone density, and undergo structural adaptations that in combination will improve bone strength compared to girls who do not participate in impact exercise.
NICHD Clinical Trials
ClinicalTrials.gov Search Results
Information on current NIH-sponsored clinical trials on bone health, calcium, and osteoporosis is available by following the link below or by calling 800-411-1222.
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