Thomas O. Carpenter
Section of Endocrinology
Department of Pediatrics
thomas.carpenter@yale.edu

Yale School of Medicine link

Research
Thomas Carpenter, M.D. (Professor of Pediatrics, Endocrinology), has maintained a career-long interest in the investigation of metabolic bone disease in children. His primary focus has been on the most common inherited form of rickets, X-linked hypophosphatemia (XLH). He spearheaded studies at Yale which highlighted the frequency of secondary hyperparathyroidism in patients with XLH, even before application of any therapy, and reported on the novel suppressive effect of 24, 25 dihydroxyvitamin D on PTH secretion in this population. He recently completed, in collaboration with Dr. Ingrid Holm, a large phenotype-genotype study of several affected kindreds with XLH. More recently Dr. Carpenter has initiated a clinical trial determining whether magnesium supplementation to adolescent girls with suboptimal dietary magnesium intake enhances bone density acquisition during the critical adolescent years.

Dr. Carpenter interests in nutritional aspects of bone disease in children have included a recent report of a large cohort of children in the New Haven, CT area that present with classical features of vitamin D deficiency, however, have levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D in the normal range. These studies suggest that calcium deficiency may play an important role in this disorder and confirm that treatment of this disorder should always include calcium supplementation.

Dr. Carpenter's interest in clinical research of children has resulted in his recent establishment of a community network for the recruitment of pediatric age subjects from community practices in Southern Connecticut area.