Wake Forest receives $1.5 million to fund imaging study aimed at bone loss after bariatric surgery
Researchers at the Wake Forest University School of Medicine have received a $1.5 million grant to fund a new imaging study experts hope will offer insight into bone loss that occurs following weight loss surgery.
The funding will go toward the Strategies to Reduce the Onset of Sleeve Gastrectomy Associated Bone Loss (STRONG BONES) trial, which will analyze whether risedronate—a medication prescribed to prevent and treat osteoporosis—can reduce bone loss after bariatric surgery.
Bone loss is a known side effect and it can increase the risk of fracture over time. It can affect anyone who has the procedure, including young adults.
Researchers will use a special type of CT technology known as high-resolution peripheral quantitative computed tomography (HR-pQCT) to analyze bone microstructure.
“Unlike other available imaging, HR-pQCT allows high-resolution novel image processing techniques that can provide precise images with detailed characterization of bone,” Ashley Weaver, PhD, associate professor of biomedical engineering at Wake Forest University School of Medicine and principal investigator of the trial, said in a release. “By analyzing this bone microarchitecture, we have valuable insight into fracture risk and skeletal fragility.”
Participants who are undergoing a sleeve gastrectomy operation will subsequently be treated with either risedronate or a placebo for six months and will undergo HR-pQCT exams before, during and after treatment. Experts hope that by combining high resolution imaging with a computational model to measure how changes in the bone progress over time.
“This gives us a more in-depth understanding of how and where risedronate may be affecting bone remodeling in our study participants,” Caitlyn Collins, PhD, a co-investigator on the ancillary study to the STRONG BONES trial, said in the release.
The grant is being awarded by the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, which is part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The funding is expected to cover five years of research.
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In addition to her background in journalism, Hannah also has patient-facing experience in clinical settings, having spent more than 12 years working as a registered rad tech. She began covering the medical imaging industry for Innovate Healthcare in 2021.