Laura K. Bachrach

Prevention of osteoporosis begins in childhood and adolescence by measures that maximize acquistion of bone mineral during the critical adolescent years. Body mass, calcium nutriture, physical activity, growth and sex steroid hormones, and genetic factors are all thought to be important determinants of bone mass although the relative contribution of each remains controversial. Mu research interests are directed at the process of bone mineral acquisition during childhood in healthy young people and patients with disorders that place them at risk for premature osteoporosis. My specific ongoing studies include:

1. Longitudinal studies of bone mineral acquisition in healthy children and young adults: an examination of 400 Caucasian, African-American, Asian and Hispanic males and females (ages 9-25) to assess the contribution of gender, ethnicity, diet, activity and puberty to bone mass.

2. Bone mineral accretion in patients with cystic fibrosis: risk factors for osteoporosis.

3. Changes in bone mass and body composition in patients with growth hormone receptor deficiency: impact of therapy with recombinant IGF-I.
Biochemical markers of bone mineral turnover are being examined to defined the nature of osteopenia in these patient populations.

In addition to this primary focus on bone mineral, I am examining the relationship between diet, exercise, ethnicity, and illness on body composition in the groups outlined above using "gold standard" measures of lean and fat mass derived from dual energy absorptiometry.