Treatments and Research - Osteogenesis Imperfecta Foundation

From the U.S. Surgeon General:

"Over the past several decades, scientists have learned a significant amount about the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of bone disease. Our next and most critical step is to transfer this knowledge from the research laboratories to the general population."*

We take pride in being the premiere source of medically-verified information about OI in the United States. The OI Foundation responds to more than 7,000 queries each year from persons with OI, those who care for them, and medical and research professionals.

* From Surgeon General Richard H. Carmona's Preface to Bone Health & Osteoporosis, A Surgeon General Report, page V.

The Osteogenesis Imperfecta Foundation and the Children's Brittle Bone Foundation invite applications for OI Foundation Research Grants. Funding is available for fellowships for young investigators working to develop expertise in OI research or "seed" grants for either basic or clinical studies with relevance to OI.

Fiscal Year 2008 Funding will include:

Michael Geisman Research Fellowships: Applicants must be in academic institutions and the work must be done under the supervision of a mentor with training and experience in osteogenesis imperfecta (OI) or a related field. Fellowships may be funded at up to $50,000 per year ($35,000 toward the investigator's salary and up to $15,000 per year for supplies). Funding may be available for second-year support.

Seed Grants for basic or clinical studies with relevance to OI may be funded at up to $60,000 for one year. Seed grants do not support indirect costs or principal investigators' salaries.

Clinical Seed Grants may be funded at up to $120,000 for two years (grants do not support indirect costs or principal investigator salaries).

Grant applications are available online,
by mail or by fax:

Osteogenesis Imperfecta Foundation
804 West Diamond Ave., Suite 210
Gaithersburg, MD 20878 (USA)
(301) 947-0083
Fax: (301) 947-0456
bonelink@oif.org

Important Information About Bisphosphonates
The OI Foundation's Medical Advisory Council has recently released a Statement on the Use of Bisphosphonates as a potential treatment for people with OI. This document addresses what is known and what questions remain to be answered about bisphonsphonate treatments.

2006 Research Update
As published in the Spring Issue of Breakthrough, this 6-page Research Update highlights the research currently being funded by the OI Foundation into better treatments and a cure for OI.

Learn the Latest Research Information
Read the report from the 2006 "New Research Strategies in OI" scientific meeting, where more than 50 clinicians and researchers gathered to discuss the current status and future course of clinical care and research into treatments and a cure. This was the fifth OI Foundation Scientific Meeting. Sponsored by the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, the Office of Rare Diseases, and the Buchbinder Family.

Read a summary from the 2006 International Science Meeting on OI.

Read the report from the 2004 Mild Forms Of Osteogenesis Imperfecta (OI) Molecular Basis, Natural History, and Treatment, where more than 25 clinicians and researchers gathered to discuss the current status and future course of clinical care and research into treatments and a cure for Mild OI. This was the fourth OI Foundation Scientific Meeting. Sponsored by the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, the Office of Rare Diseases, and the Buchbinder Family.

Read the report from the 2003 "New Research Strategies in OI " scientific meeting, where more than 30 clinicians and researchers gathered to discuss the current status and future course of OI research into treatments and a cure.

Recessive Form of OI Discovered - Click here to read more

Genetic Cause for Recessive Form of Lethal OI Discovered by Foundation's Medical Advisory Council Member

Discovery: Recessive Forms of OI.
Recent discoveries expand our understanding of OI. This article summarizes the new information and explains why this discovery is important.

35 years of research
Read a summary of the OI Foundation's research efforts.

New Studies:

Adults with OI
   Several centers across the United States are participating in a study on the effectiveness of Forteo as a treatment for adults with OI.Click here for details about the Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, MD trial.  Click here for details about the Oregon Health Science University, Portland, OR trial.

  Children with OI
Studies are currently recruiting participants. Click here for details.

On-going Studies
OI Type V study
(for Children/Adults with Type V OI)
Bisphosphonate Studies
(Various participants/investigators)

Information for Potential Participants
  Medical Advisory Council Statement
(statement on bisphosphonate use)
Clinical Trials Fact Sheet
(general informaton about clinical trials)
Bisphosphonate Q&A
(information for potential participants)

Results of Previous Studies
Bone Marrow Transplants
(for Children with Severe OI)
Results of Study on Pamidronate Use
(in Children with OI)

Bibliographies
Selected bibliographies of published works by the OI Foundation's Medical Advisory Council.

Annotated OI Bibliographies
A complete OI bibliography, published with support from the National Institutes of Health's Osteoporosis and Related Bone Diseases ~ National Resource Center. (This is an adobe acrobat file).