A Natural History Study of Bone and Mineral Disorders

This study has four objectives: 1) to provide investigators the opportunity to study bone specimens from patients with various skeletal diseases; 2) to treat patients with skeletal diseases at the NIH; 3) to expose NIH trainees to certain skeletal diseases; and 4) to gain more knowledge about skeletal diseases and stimulate further study of bone biology. Anyone with a disease that affects the skeleton may be eligible for this study. All evaluations, tests, procedures and treatments given study participants are used in the standard care of skeletal diseases. No experimental evaluations or treatments are offered. Patient evaluations include a medical history, review of medical records and routine physical examination. Based on the findings, other procedures may be recommended, including blood tests, urine tests, and imaging tests, such as X-rays, bone densitometry, bone scan, computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Bone specimens from participants will be collected for research use. Specimens will be obtained from bone removed during a patient s planned surgical procedure performed for medical care, or patients may be requested to have a bone biopsy removal of a small piece of bone tissue as part of the patient evaluation procedure.