CNRC Scientists Develop Bone-Density Database
 Physicians
working with ill children have a new resource for monitoring
the bone health of their young patients, thanks to CNRC body
composition expert Dr. Kenneth Ellis.
Ellis, the director of the CNRC's body composition laboratory,
and his team have developed a website
that gives physicians access to the laboratory's extensive
database of bone-density measurements.
"Our laboratory has collected whole-body bone-density
measurements on over 1500 healthy children of different ages,
genders, heights, weights and ethnic groups," said Ellis,
a professor of pediatrics at Baylor College of Medicine. "As
a result, we have assembled the most complete pediatric bone-density
database in the country, which can now serve as a reference
population to assist in interpreting the bone scans of children
with diseases that may affect bone health."
Ellis and his team found that normal bone-density values
of healthy children can vary significantly depending on their
age, sex, body size, and ethnicity, which is why they felt
it was important to give physicians access to the CNRC's well-characterized
reference population.
"A pediatrician who orders a bone scan of an ill 9-year-old
African-American boy, for example, can go to our website and
enter information about the child's bone-density test results.
These are compared with the appropriately matched references
from the CNRC database and the relative status of the child's
bone mineral density is immediately provided," Ellis
said.
Access to the website database is limited to physicians and
scientists. Those wishing to have access to this free service
should send an E-mail to: kellis@bcm.tmc.edu
|
Issue Index 
