Can stopping long-term bisphosphonate treatment let damaged bone remodel and regain strength?
Official title: Renewed bone remodeling after pausing long-term bisphosphonate use: Does it replace regions of impaired bone quality and restore mechanical integrity?
Funded at City College of New York · NIH-11310739 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project will see if pausing long-term osteoporosis drugs called bisphosphonates helps replace damaged bone and restore bone strength for people who have used these medicines for many years.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | City College of New York NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (New York, United States) |
| Project start | September 5, 2023 |
| Project end | March 31, 2029 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $456,674 |
| NIH project number | 5R01AR081381-03 |
| Project ID | NIH-11310739 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
People who have taken bisphosphonates long-term for osteoporosis and are worried about bone quality or atypical femur fracture risk would be the most relevant group for future clinical guidance arising from this work.
✕Less likely to help
Patients who have never used bisphosphonates, have other primary causes of bone loss, or require continuous antiresorptive therapy due to very high fracture risk may not benefit from these specific findings.
What this research studies
This research uses animal models to mimic long-term bisphosphonate use in postmenopausal osteoporosis and introduces controlled bone microdamage to test whether renewed remodeling after a drug holiday removes and replaces damaged bone. Scientists will measure bone composition, material properties, osteocyte survival, and fracture resistance in treated rats and mice, including ovariectomized mice to model menopause. They will use methods such as RNA in-situ hybridization to examine genes that regulate remodeling and mineralization at sites with remaining viable osteocytes. The work aims to determine whether natural repair processes can target long-standing compromised bone tissue after stopping treatment.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, the findings could help doctors decide when and whether to pause bisphosphonate therapy to reduce fracture risk and improve bone quality.
How similar studies have gone: Some clinical and laboratory studies have suggested benefits to taking a drug holiday, but it remains unclear whether renewed remodeling actually removes long-standing microdamage, so this work addresses an unresolved question.
Where this research is happening
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City College of New York
New York, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Schaffler, Mitchell B — City College of New York
- Study coordinator: Schaffler, Mitchell B
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.