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In March of 1995, a group of the Johns Hopkins University School
of Medicine faculty met to form the Center for Osteonecrosis Research
and Education. This group contained both orthopaedists and rheumatologists
and now makes up the executive board for this Center. Members of
this group included: David S. Hungerford, M.D.; Lynne C. Jones,
Ph.D.; Michael A. Mont, M.D.; Peter A Holt, SI.D. and Thomas M.
Zizic, M.D. In 1996, Dennis W. Lennox, M.D. joined the board. During
the spring and summer of 1995, this group met to define and discuss
basic research and clinical questions relating to osteonecrosis.
As previously mentioned, one of the first activities sponsored by
the Center was a symposium on the current issues facing patients
with osteonecrosis and their physicians. During 1996 and 1997, the
executive board defined projects areas, established research protocols,
and initiated several clinical studies. In 1999, a virtual center
was formed. That is, physicians from different medical centers agreed
to organize in such a way in order to participate in multicenter
studies and to collect specific data from their osteonecrosis patients
What
is our mission?
Our mission is to advance the knowledge of the etiology, pathogenesis,
diagnosis and treatment of osteonecrosis. We hope to accomplish
this with the development of a nationwide database and by coordinating
multi-center studies.
Objectives
and Purposes of the Center
-
Through epidemiological research, to define people who are
at risk to develop osteonecrosis. This All involve gathering
patient information from several clinical centers and entering
the results into a database.
- To
conduct research projects that focus on the development
or improvement of diagnostic techniques for the early diagnosis
of osteonecrosis.
- To
coordinate basic science and multi-center research projects
pertaining to the study of the pathogenesis of osteonecrosis.
- To
coordinate multi-center studies which are designed to test
potential medical and surgical treatments.
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