Dr. Black has over 20 years of experience investigating osteoporosis and therapies to treat this disease. His most recent research involved the evaluation of treatments for osteoporosis and the risk of fracture. The study concluded that benefits of treatments outweigh the risk of rare femoral fractures. The results were published in early 2010 in the New England Journal of Medicine and received extensive media coverage. Dr. Black is currently Principal Investigator, along with Dr. Roberta Ballard, for a multi-center trial (TOLSURF) pioneering treatment for BPD (bronchopulmonary dysplasia) for extremely low birth weight infants.

Research Interests

• Osteoporosis
• Clinical trials

Selected Publications

1. Black DM, Cummings SR, Stone K, Hudes E, Palermo L, Steiger P. A new approach to defining normal vertebral dimensions. J Bone Miner Res 6:883-892, 1991.
2. Black, DM, Reiss TR, Karpf DF, Tell G, Cummings SR. Design of the Fracture Intervention Trial. Osteoporosis Int Supp. 3:29-39, 1993.
3. Black DM. Screening and treatment in the elderly to reduce osteoporotic fracture risk. British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, 103 Suppl 13:2-7, 1996.
4. Black DM, Cummings SR, Karpf DB, Cauley JA, Thompson DE, Nevitt MC, Bauer DC, Genant HK, Haskell WL, Marcus R, Ott SM, Torner JC, Quandt SA, Reiss TF, Ensrud KE. Randomised trial of effect of alendronate on risk of fracture in women with existing vertebral fractures. Lancet. 348:1535-41, 1996.
5. Black DM, Bilezikian JP, Ensrud KE, Greenspan SL, Palermo L, Hue T, Lang TF, McGowan JA, Rosen CJ., the PaTH Study Investigators. One Year of Alendronate after One Year of Parathyroid Hormone (1-84) for Osteoporosis. N Engl J Med 2005 Aug 11(353): 555-565.
6. Black DM, Schwartz AV, Ensrud KE, Cauley JA, Levis S, Quandt SA, Satterfield S, Wallace RB, Bauer DC, Palermo L, Wehren LE, Lombardi A, Santora AC, Cummings SR; FLEX Research Group. Effects of continuing or stopping alendronate after 5 years of treatment: The Fracture Intervention Trial Long-term Extension (FLEX): A Randomized Trial. J Amer Med Assoc 2006 Dec; 296(24):2927-38.
7. Black DM, Rosen CJ; Is risedronate or alendronate more effective at preventing nonvertebral fractures in women with osteoporosis? Nat Clin Pract Rheumatol 2007 3(7): 420
8. Black DM, Bouxsein ML, Palermo L, McGowan JA, Newitt D, Rosen E, Majumbar S, Rosen CJ: for the PTH Once-Weekly Research (POWR) group; Randomized trial of once-weekly PTH (1-84) on bone mineral density and remodeling. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. March, 2008.
9. Black DM, Bouxsein ML, Marshall LM, Cummings SR, Lang TF, Cauley JA, Ensrud KE, Nielson CM, Orwoll ES; for the Osteoporotic Fractures in Men (MrOS) research group. Proximal femoral structure and the prediction of hip fracture in men: A Large prospective study using quantitative computed tomography. J Bone Miner Res. March, 2008.
10. Black DM, Kelly MP, Genant HK, Palermo L, Eastell R, Bucci-Rechtweg C, Cauley J, Leung PC, Boonen S, Santora A, de Papp A, Bauer DC; Bisphosphonates and Fractures of the Subtrochanteric or Diaphyseal Femur. NEJM, 2010 Mar 24 (PMID 20335571)
11. Boonen S, Black DM, Colón-Emeric CS, Eastell R, Magaziner JS, Eriksen EF, Mesenbrink P, Haentjens P, Lyles KW. Efficacy and safety of a once-yearly intravenous zoledronic acid 5 mg for fracture prevention in elderly postmenopausal women with osteoporosis aged 75 and older. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2010 58(2):292-9. Epub 2010 Jan 8. PubMed PMID: 20070415
12. Gomberg SJ, Wustrak RL, Napoli N, Arnaud CD, Black DM; Teriparatide, Vitamin D, and Calciium Healed Bilateral Subtrochanteric Stress Fractures in a Postmenopausal Woman with a 13-Year History of Continuous Alendronate Therapy. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2011, June; 96(6):0000-0000
13. Schwartz AV, Vittinghoff E, Bauer DC, Hillier TA, Strotmeyer ES, Ensrud KE, Donaldson MG, Cauley JA, Harris TB, Koster A, Womack CR, Palermo L, Black DM; Association of BMD and FRAX Score With Risk of Fracture in Older Adults with Type 2 Diabetes; JAMA 2011, June; Vol 305, No. 21
14. Feldstein A, Black DM, Perrin N, Rosales AG, Friess D, Boardman D, Dell R, Santora A, Chandler JM, Rix MM, Orwoll E. Incidence and demography of femur fractures with and without atypical features. J Bone Miner Res. 27(5) 977-986. 2012 DOI: 10.1002/jbmr.1550
15. Black DM, Reid I.R., Boonen, S., Bucci-Rechtweg, C., Cauley J., Cosman, F, Cummings, S.R., Hue, T.F., Lippuner, K, Lakatos, P, Leung, P.C., Man, Z, Martinez, R., Tan M.,Ruzycky M.E., Su G., Eastell, R. The effect of 3 versus 6 years of zoledronic acid treatment of osteoporosis: a randomized extension to the HORIZON-Pivotal Fracture Trial (PFT). J Bone Miner Res. 2012 Feb;27(2):243-54. PMID: 22161728.
16. Black DM, Rosen CJ. Following the Bone Density Trail: A Clinical Perspective. J Clin Endocrinol Metab, 2012 Apr;97(4):1176-8.
17. Wang, Xiang; Sanyal, Arnav; Cawthon, Peggy M; Palermo, Lisa; Jekir, Michael; Christensen, John; Ensrud, Kristine E; Cummings, Steven R; Orwoll, Eric; Black, Dennis M;. Prediction of new clinical vertebral fractures in elderly men using finite element analysis of CT scans Journal of Bone and Mineral Research; 27(4) 808-816. 2012
18. Napoli N, Jin J, Peters K, Wustrack R, Burch S, Chau A, Cauley J, Ensrud K, Kelly M, Black DM. Are women with thicker cortices in the femoral shaft at higher risk of subtrochanteric/diaphyseal fractures? The study of osteoporotic fractures. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2012 Jul;97(7):2414-22. doi: 10.1210/jc.2011-3256. Epub 2012 Apr 30.
19. Boonen S, Eastell R, Su G, Mesenbrink P, Cosman F, Cauley JA, Reid IR, Claessens F, Vanderschueren D, Lyles KW, Black DM. Time to Onset of Antifracture Efficacy and Year-by-Year Persistence of Effect of Zoledronic Acid in Women with Osteoporosis. J Bone Miner Res. 2012 Jul;27(7):1487-93. doi: 10.1002/jbmr.1605.
20. Jacques RM, Boonen S, Cosman F, Reid IR, Bauer DC, Black DM, Eastell R. Relationship of changes in total hip bone mineral density to vertebral and nonvertebral fracture risk in women with postmenopausal osteoporosis treated with once-yearly zoledronic acid 5 mg: The HORIZON-Pivotal Fracture Trial (PFT). J Bone Miner Res. 2012 Aug;27(8):1627-34.
21. Black DM, Bauer DC, Schwartz AV, Cummings SR, Rosen CJ. Continuing Bisphosphonate Treatment for Osteoporosis - For Whom and for How Long? N Engl J Med. 2012 May;366:2051-2053.
22. Schafer AL, Sellmeyer DE, Palermo L, Hietpas J, Eastell R, Shoback DM, Black DM. Six months of parathyroid hormone (1-84) administered concurrently versus sequentially with monthly ibandronate over two years: the PTH and ibandronate combination study (PICS) randomized trial. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2012 Oct;97(10):3522-9. doi: 10.1210/jc.2012-1844. Epub 2012 Jul 12.
23. Reid, IR; Black, DM; Eastell, R; Bucci-Rechtweg, C; Su, G; Hue, TF; Mesenbrink, P; Lyles, KW; Boonen, S;. Reduction in the Risk of Clinical Fractures After a Single Dose of Zoledronic Acid 5 Milligrams Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism; 98(2) 557-563. 2013
24. Black DM, Bilezikian JP, Greenspan SL, Wuster C, Munoz-Torres M, Bone HG, Rosen CJ, Andersen HS, Hanley DA. Improved adherence with PTH (1-84) in an extension trial for 24 months results in enhanced BMD gains in the treatment of postmenopausal women with osteoporosis. Osteoporosis Int. 2013 Apr;24(4):1503-11. doi: 10.1007/s00198-012-2098-3. Epub 2012 Aug 29.
25. Schwartz AV, Ewing SK, Porzig AM, McCulloch CE, Resnick HE, Hillier TA, Ensrud KE, Black DM, Nevitt MC, Cummings SR, Sellmeyer DE. Diabetes and change in bone mineral density at the hip, calcaneus, spine and radius in older women. Front Endocrinol (Lausanne) 2013 May 30;4:62. doi: 10.3389/fendo.2013.00062. ecollection2013.
26. Cummings SR, Feng A, Black DM, Wagman R, Austin M, Wang A, Walimbe M, Wu LA, Lui LY, Vittinghoff E. Fracture risk factors during treatment with denosumab. Bone Abstracts (2013) 1OC5.2. doi:10.1530/boneabs.01.OC5.2
27. McNabb, Brian Louis; Vittinghoff, Eric; Schwartz, Ann V; Eastell, Richard; Bauer, Douglas C; Ensrud, Kristine; Rosenberg, Elizabeth; Santora, Arthur; Barrett-Connor, Elizabeth; Black, Dennis M;. BMD changes and predictors of increased bone loss in postmenopausal women following a 5-year course of alendronate Journal of Bone and Mineral Research; () . 2013
28. Schafer AL, Burghardt AJ, Sellmeyer DE, Palermo L, Schoback DM, Majumdar S, Black DM. Postmenopausal women treated with combination parathyroid hormone (1-84) and ibandronate demonstrate different microstructural changes at the radius vs. tibia: the PTH and Ibandronate Combination Study (PICS). Osteoporosis Int. 2013 Oct;24(10):2591-601. doi: 10.1007/s00198-013-2349-y. Epub 2013 Apr 16.
29. Black DM, Schafer AL. The search for the optimal anabolic osteoporosis therapy. J Bone Miner Res. 2013 Nov;28(11):2263-5. doi: 10.1002/jbmr.2104.
30. Schousboe JT, Rosen HR, Vokes TJ, Cauley JA, Cummings SR, Nevitt MC, Black DM, Orwoll ES, Kado DM, Ensrud KE, Osteoporotic Fractures in Men (MrOS) Study Research Group. Prediction Models of Prevalent Radiographic Vertebral Fractures Among Older Men. J Clin Densitom. 2013 Nov 27. pii: S1094-6950(13)00182-0. doi: 10.1016/j.jocd.2013.09.020. [Epub ahead of print]
31. Schafer, A. L., N. Napoli, L. Lui, A. V. Schwartz, and D. M. Black. "Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentration does not independently predict incident diabetes in older women." Diabetic Medicine (2014).