Effect of strontium ranelate on bone mineral density in men with osteoporosis

Abstract

Osteoporosis affects 6-7% of the male population. The proportion of patients with fragility fractures but without diagnosis of the disease is high. Mortality after hip fracture is higher in men than in women; in spite of this, most patients are left without treatment for osteoporosis. Drugs approved, for the treatment of osteoporosis in our country are bisphosphonates, teriparatide, and strontium ranelate (SrR).
The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of SrR on axial BMD in men after one year of treatment. We obtained pertinent data from medical registries of 20 men aged 67,8±3,0 years, treated with oral SrR (2 g/day) for 12 months. All patients had a T-score below -2,5 at the hip or the lumbar spine, or a T-score below -2,0 and one or more risk factors for fracture. The levels of serum calcium, phosphate, alkaline phosphatase, 25-hydroxyvitamin D, or PTH, or urinary calcium and desoxipyridinoline remained unchanged following SrR administration. After treatment with SrR there were significant increases in BMD at the lumbar spine: 0,953±0,029 versus 0,997±0,030 g/cm2 (p=0,0068), femoral neck: 0,734±0,013 versus 0,764±0,016 g/cm2 (p=0.0084), and total hip: 0,821±0,02 versus 0,834±0,02 g/cm2 (p=0,0419). Conclusion: in osteoporotic men, treatment with SrR significantly increases BMD in the lumbar spine and the proximal femur.