Alendronate for the Prevention and Treatment of Glucocorticoid-Induced Osteoporosis

Osteoporosis is perhaps the most predictable and debilitating complication of long-term glucocorticoid therapy, 1 , 2 with bone loss that ultimately leads to fractures in up to 50 percent of patients. 3 – 5 Estrogen, vitamin D and its analogues, and calcitonin prevented bone loss in patients treated with glucocorticoids in some 6 – 10 but not all 11 – 13 studies. Recently, bisphosphonates have generated interest as a potential therapy for glucocorticoid-induced osteoporosis because of their ability to inhibit bone resorption and their relatively few side effects. 14 In several studies of glucocorticoid-induced osteoporosis, pamidronate and etidronate increased spinal 15 – 20 and, to a lesser extent, hip 17 , 18 bone . . .