Importantly, there are clinical trials of bone turnover and bone mass to determine how nutritional intake influences the development of osteoporosis. The major focus in the laboratory is to determine how loss of body weight contributes to the risk of osteoporosis.
Evidence shows that subjects who diet and lose weight also lose bone.
Our goal is to determine mechanisms that regulate the rate of bone turnover and bone loss during caloric restriction. In addition, studies examining gastric bypass patients are in progress to understand how obesity surgery influences calcium homeostatsis and bone mass. Due to the high rate of morbidity and mortality associated with osteoporotic fractures, we also use a rat model to better understand how nutrition regulates bone turnover, composition, and biomechanical properties. We also examine the regulation of bone turnover in disease states associated with changes in bone mass. For example, we have studied how glycemic control and hormones regulate bone turnover in insulin-dependent patients with diabetes.