Study Status: Completed
Recruit Status: Completed
Study Type: Interventional
Official Title: Double-Blinded Controlled Trial of Alendronate for the Treatment of Childhood and Adolescent Glucocorticoid- Associated Osteopenia and Osteoporosis
Brief Summary: This trial will test the hypothesis that among 20 children and adolescents from Children's Hospital, Boston with Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, systemic-onset juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, juvenile dermatomyositis, systemic lupus erythematosus, mixed connective tissue disease and vasculitis, treatment of glucocorticoid-associated osteopenia and osteoporosis with 18 months of alendronate (FOSAMAX®, Merck & Co., Inc.) will result in greater improvement in the mean change of individual AP spine bone mineral density (BMD) (gm/cm2) determined by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) than treatment with 18 months of standard of care therapy.