Alendronate for the treatment of osteoporosis in men

Citation
S. Adami et al., Alendronate for the treatment of osteoporosis in men, CALCIF TIS, 69(4), 2001, pp. 239-241
Citations number
19
Categorie Soggetti
Endocrinology, Nutrition & Metabolism
Journal title
CALCIFIED TISSUE INTERNATIONAL
ISSN journal
0171967X → ACNP
Volume
69
Issue
4
Year of publication
2001
Pages
239 - 241
Database
ISI
SICI code
0171-967X(200110)69:4<239:AFTTOO>2.0.ZU;2-B
Abstract
The incidence of osteoporotic fracture in mates is approximately one-third of that observed in women, but information on specific therapies is almost exclusively limited to bisphosphonate alendronate. The most important study with this compound included 241 men, randomized to receive either alendron ate 10 mg/day or placebo. In another study 134 men were given either 10 mg alendronate or alfacalcidiol 1 mug/day. After 24 months, the treatment with alendronate bone mineral density (BMD) significantly increased in both stu dies by 7-10% at the lumbar spine and by 2.5-5.2% at the femoral neck. Thes e changes were associated with decreases in vertebral fracture rate and in stature loss, both statistically significant when the data of the two trial s were meta-analysed. The BMD changes after alendronate therapy were compar able to those observed in postmenopausal osteoporosis. This was confirmed i n a trial specifically designed to compare alendronate efficacy in men and postmenopausal women with either primary or secondary osteoporosis. Gender- comparative efficacy data can also be inferred from clinical trials in gluc ocorticoid-induced osteoporosis of alendronate, risedronate, and etidronate , carried out in both women and men. By combining the results of all these trials, bisphosphonate efficacy in terms of both BMD changes and fracture i ncidence appears to be moderate in premenopausal women but quite obvious an d comparable in males and postmenopausal women.