Better drug treatment for steroids-induced osteoporosis recently discovered
by admin ~ October 31st, 2009.
Steroid induced osteoporosis is common among patients under the maintenance of drugs such as prednisone, prednisolone, dexamethasone and cortisone. These types of steroids are called glucocorticoids. These hormones are created naturally by the body to facilitate decrease in inflammation among patients with autoimmune disease. Patients with lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, Crohn’s disease and asthma commonly take these types of medicines.
Alendronate used to be the drug of choice in patients with steroids-induced osteoporosis. Recently, however, researchers identified that the drug teriparatide can better aid increase in bone density and is better at reducing incidence of vertebral fractures in osteoporotic patients.
In a research conducted, 428 patients with confirmed osteoporosis were distributed into two groups. The first group was given 5 mg of prednisone a day for three straight months or more. The second group took 10 mg of alendronate a day with an extra placebo injection. All participants received 1,000mg of calcium daily and 800 International Units of Vitamin D a day.
Results demonstrated patients under the teriparatide group had an 11% increase in their bone mineral density while patients under the alendronate group only had a 5.3% increase in bone mineral density.
Researchers concluded that teriparatide is a more effective and safe treatment for steroid induced osteoporosis.
From AJC:
Category: Anabolic Steroids | Tags: alendronate, glucocorticoids, osteoporosis, steroids, teriparatideThe drug teriparatide is better at increasing bone density and reducing vertebral fractures in patients with glucocorticoid-induced osteoporosis than the drug alendronate, a new study finds.