Alendronate and vitamin D 'protects against bone loss and fracture' in patients taking steroids
The bisphosphonate drug alendronate, taken with alfacalcidol (vitamin D) helps maintain bone mass density in post-menopausal women who are taking steroids for auto-immune diseases, new research has revealed.
Scientists from the University of Occupational and Environmental Health in Japan studied 47 post-menopausal women who had developed autoimmune diseases and were starting glucocorticoid therapy.
Participants were divided into two groups. The first group of 22 women was treated with 1mg of prednisolone per kg of body weight a day and alfacalcidol 1µg (micrograms) a day.
The second group, comprising 25 women, was given alendronate 5mg a day along with prednisolone and alfacalcidol 1µg a day.
Both groups were treated for 18 months.
The findings, published in the Journal of Rheumatology, revealed that at six months, the rate of bone loss in the lumbar spine was significantly lower in the group that had been treated with the combination of alfacalcidol and alendronate.
In addition, it was found that at 12 months or later, there were four cases of bone fracture in the alfacalcidol group but none in the combined group, even at 18 months.
"Alendronate with alfacalcidol can maintain bone mass density and protects against high-dose glucocorticoid-induced bone loss and bone fracture," the researchers concluded.
A spokesman for the Arthritis Research Campaign said it was important for women with auto-immune conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis to be closely monitored for thinning bones and osteoporosis as a result of their glucocorticoid medication.
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