Sickle Cell Hemoglobinopathies and Bone Health

NCT02306993 · Status: ACTIVE_NOT_RECRUITING · Type: OBSERVATIONAL · Enrollment: 45

Last updated 2025-03-27

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

This research study has two purposes. The first purpose is to determine whether having sickle cell trait (SCT) is a risk factor for the development of bone thinning at an earlier age than expected. Nearly 10% of African Americans (AA) carry sickle cell trait and most of them are unaware of it. African Americans are less likely to develop thin bones than whites, but if they sustain a bone fracture, they are more likely to die from it. We believe having sickle cell trait may lead to bone thinning and predispose a subset of African Americans to dangerously thin bones. The second purpose is to try to understand why individuals with sickle cell disease (SCD) have thinner bones than healthy individuals do. Doctors have already discovered that people with sickle cell disease have very thin bones, but they have not determined why. Our study will try to identify whether the bone thinning is from the body not making enough bone or from the body losing bone once it is made.

Conditions

Interventions

OTHER

Healthy volunteers without SCT

Subjects will undergo bone density evaluation via dual energy x-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) scanning. Subjects will provide a sample of for testing of bone turnover markers, complete blood count, and hemoglobin electrophoresis. Subjects will provide information about their dietary calcium intake and pain burden.

OTHER

Healthy volunteers with SCT

Subjects will undergo bone density evaluation via dual energy x-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) scanning. Subjects will provide a sample of for testing of bone turnover markers, complete blood count, and hemoglobin electrophoresis. Subjects will provide information about their dietary calcium intake and pain burden.

OTHER

Volunteers with SCD

Subjects will undergo bone density evaluation via dual energy x-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) scanning. Subjects will provide a sample of for testing of bone turnover markers, complete blood count, and hemoglobin electrophoresis. Subjects will provide information about their dietary calcium intake and pain burden.

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • UConn Health

    lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

  • Biree Andemariam, MD · UConn Health

Eligibility

Min Age
18 Years
Max Age
45 Years
Sex
FEMALE
Healthy Volunteers
Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2014-05-31
Primary Completion
2025-12-31
Completion
2025-12-31

Countries

  • United States

Study Locations

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Entities

Read the full study record

This page highlights key information. For complete eligibility criteria, study locations, investigator contacts, and the full protocol, visit the original record on ClinicalTrials.gov.

View NCT02306993 on ClinicalTrials.gov