Teriparatide 'better than alendronate for glucocorticoid-related osteoporosis'
The drug teriparatide is more effective in increasing bone mineral density in the lower back bone compared to alendronate in patients who have developed osteoporosis due to glucocorticoid use.
That is according to a new study published in the journal Osteoporosis International, which compared the effects of the two drugs through an analysis of more than 400 people.
Glucocorticoids, also known as steroids, are used to treat inflammatory diseases like rheumatoid arthritis. One of their side effects is bone loss, which in turn leads to the bone-thinning disease osteoporosis.
Teriparatide (brand name Forsteo) and alendronate (Fosamax) are two drugs prescribed to treat osteoporosis by increasing bone mineral density.
The first is a bone formation agent that is a version of a parathyroid hormone that stimulates calcium metabolism, while alendronate is part of a class of drugs called bisphosphonates, a common treatment for osteoporosis.
In the new study, researchers led by Dr Bente Langdahl of Aarhus University Hospital in Denmark divided the 427 patients into two groups and treated them with either 20 micrograms of teriparatide a day or ten milligrams of alendronate a day.
They found that increases in bone mineral density in the lumbar spine (lower back bone) were more significant in patients taking teriparatide compared to those on alendronate.
"Among men and pre- and postmenopausal women with glucocorticoid-induced osteoporosis, lumbar spine bone mineral density increased more in patients receiving teriparatide compared with alendronate," the researchers concluded.
A spokesman for the Arthritis Research Campaign said the greater choice of drugs to treat osteoporosis was good news, but drugs other than alendronate were not widely prescribed, largely due to cost.
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