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| |  Adding Alfacalcidol to Alendronate Regimen Contributes to Beneficial Bone Health at the Lumbar Spine: Presented at ASBMR By John Otrompke DENVER -- September 14, 2009 -- Addition of alfacalcidol to a regimen of alendronate with calcium appears to contribute to bone health at the lumbar spine region, according to a poster presented here at the 31st Annual Meeting of the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research (ASBMR). Bone mineral density (BMD) in patients receiving both drugs plus calcium was improved at the lumbar spine in patients with osteoporosis and in patients with osteopenia as well. “On the other hand, when going to fractures as the clinically relevant outcome, we see a difference only in the osteoporotic group,” said Oliver Bock, MD, Centre for Muscle and Bone Research, Charite Campus Benjamin Franklin, Berlin, Germany, during a poster presentation on September 12. “Patients with osteopenia have less risk of fractures, except when they get older, because other risk factors such as falls cause the fracture risk to increase. Elderly patients with osteopenia should be treated.” The addition of alfacalcidol produced only a statistically insignificant benefit at the total hip. In the study, 279 women with a mean age of 73.7 years were randomised to alfacalcidol daily with alendronate or alendronate with placebo. Patients in both arms also received daily calcium 500 mg. BMD of the hip and lumbar spine were examined yearly. Three-year results from the double-blind study were presented in the poster. In the intent-to-treat group, the change in BMD at the lumbar spine was 7.12% in patients receiving both drugs, compared with 4.46% in those receiving alendronate alone. At the total hip, the change was 2.79% in those receiving both drugs, compared with 2.05% in those receiving alendronate alone. A total of 45 nonvertebral fractures occurred during the 3 years of the study. The incidence of nonvertebral fractures was lower by 38% (8 vs 13) in osteoporotic patients treated with alendronate plus alfacalcidol as compared with those treated with alendronate alone. Funding for this study was provided by Chugai Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd; GRY-Pharma GmbH; and Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. [Presentation title: Effects of a Combined Treatment With Alfacalcidol and Alendronate Versus Treatment With Alendronate Alone on BMD (DXA) at Lumbar Spine and Total Hip, and on Peripheral Fractures in Postmenopausal Women With Osteoporosis or Osteopenia, 3 Year Results. Abstract SA0392]
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