How high blood pressure may weaken bones and affect healing
Official title: BCCMA: Foundational Research to Act Upon and Resist Conditions Unfavorable to Bone (FRACTURE CURB): Role of Hypertension in Favoring Osteoporosis
Funded at Veterans Health Administration · NIH-11212764 · Data updated 2026-11-12
Researchers are working to help aging Veterans with high blood pressure keep bones stronger and heal fractures faster by boosting how parathyroid hormone builds bone.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Veterans Health Administration NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Nashville, United States) |
| Project start | October 1, 2022 |
| Project end | September 30, 2026 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| NIH project number | 5I01BX005866-04 |
| Project ID | NIH-11212764 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates would be older adults—especially Veterans—who have osteoporosis, a history of fragility fractures, or hypertension that may affect bone health.
✕Less likely to help
People without bone loss, fracture risk, or bone problems caused by unrelated conditions are unlikely to see direct benefit from this project.
What this research studies
If you are an aging Veteran with bone loss or a fracture, this project looks at how common health problems like hypertension make bones weaker and slow recovery. The team uses lab models that mimic diseases that weaken bone or delay repair to test ways to make parathyroid hormone (PTH) better at building bone. They will measure disease and treatment effects on bone in the same rigorous way and search for safer detection tools and therapies that avoid rare side effects of current drugs. Most work is currently in preclinical models, with the goal of translating findings into better prevention and healing for people like you.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could lead to new ways to prevent osteoporosis and speed fracture healing with fewer side effects for Veterans and older adults.
How similar studies have gone: Anabolic therapy with PTH already helps build bone, but enhancing PTH by targeting hypertension-related pathways is a newer approach with limited clinical testing so far.
Where this research is happening
-
Veterans Health Administration
Nashville, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Nyman, Jeffry Stephen — Veterans Health Administration
- Study coordinator: Nyman, Jeffry Stephen
Related research
Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.
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Investigating how high blood pressure affects bone health and osteoporosis in aging Veterans
This study is looking at how high blood pressure might affect bone health in older Veterans, and it aims to find new ways to help strengthen bones and prevent fractures using a hormone called parathyroid hormone (PTH).
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Community health worker-led hypertension prevention and control in Nepal
A community health worker–led program in Nepal aims to help adults prevent and better control high blood pressure through home visits, education, and ongoing support.
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.