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Patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) have frequently a bone mineral density (BMD) significantly lower than age-matched healthy subjects. The low BMD observed in IBD patients is related also to a higher incidence of bone fractures. In this prospective randomized study we evaluated the effect of 1-year risedronate administration on bone mass and turnover, and on vertebral fractures in osteoporotic postmenopausal women with IBD in remission. Ninety osteoporotic postmenopausal women were randomized to receive oral risedronate 35 mg/week (risedronate group) or placebo tablets (placebo group; one tab/week). The duration of treatment was 12 months. At entry and after treatment, lumbar spine and hip BMD, and serum osteocalcin (OC) and urinary deoxypyridinoline/creatinine ratio (DPD-Cr) levels were evaluated. Vertebral fractures were assessed from thoracic and lumbar lateral and anterior-posterior spinal radiographs taken at baseline, and from lateral spinal radiographs taken at the end of the study. At study entry, no difference between groups was also detected in BMD and in bone turnover markers. At the end of the study, lumbar spine, trochanter and femoral neck BMD was significantly ( p <0.05) higher in comparison with baseline in the risedronate group, whereas a significant ( p <0.05) decrease was observed in the placebo group. For the same visit, a significant ( p <0.05) difference in lumbar spine, trochanter and femoral neck BMD was detected between groups. After 12-month follow-up, serum OC and urinary DPD-Cr levels were significantly ( p <0.05) lower and higher in comparison with basal values in risedronate and placebo group, respectively. At the same time, a significant ( p <0.05) difference in serum OC and urinary DPD-Cr levels was observed between groups. Throughout the study, the incidence of vertebral fractures was significantly ( p <0.05) lower in the risedronate group than in the placebo group (12.5% vs 34.1%). The relative risk (RR) to develop a new vertebral fracture after 1 year of risedronate administration was of 0.36 (95% confidence interval, 0.14-0.85). In conclusion, risedronate administration is an effective anti-osteoporotic treatment in osteoporotic postmenopausal women with IBD in remission.

Vitamin D receptor (VDR) gene polymorphisms could be considered one of the factors influencing the efficacy of the anti-osteoporotic treatments. In this multicenter, prospective, randomized and controlled trial we evaluated whether BsmI vitamin D receptor (VDR) genotypes influence the efficacy of antiresorptive treatment regimes (administered alone or in combination) in postmenopausal osteoporotic women. Using restriction endonuclease, we identified the BsmI VDR polymorphism in 1,100 postmenopausal women with osteoporosis. The women were randomized, taking account of genotype, into five treatment groups: (1) alendronate (Aln, 10 mg/day) plus raloxifene (Rlx, 60 mg/day); (2) Aln plus hormone replacement therapy (HRT, 0.625 mg/day conjugated equine estrogens plus 2.5 mg/day medroxyprogesterone acetate); (3) Aln alone; (4) HRT alone; and (5) Rlx alone. Lumbar-spine bone mineral density (BMD) and bone turnover markers were measured at study entry and after 1 year of treatment. Using the general linear model (GLM) repeated-measures procedure, the means of BMD and bone turnover markers significantly differed from baseline after a period of treatment. In particular, the mean change from baseline for BMD was -0.034 (95% confidence interval [CI]: -0.037 to -0.031, P <0.001); for serum osteocalcin (OC) it was 1.369 (95% CI: 1.289 to 1.448, P <0.001); and for urinary deoxypyridinoline (DPD) it was 1.322 (95% CI: 1.242 to 1.401, P <0.001), indicating a considerable variation before and after treatment of these indicators. In all three cases these effects appeared significantly influenced by treatments, genotypes, and the treatments*genotypes interaction term (P <0.001 each, except for the BMD and genotype effect with P =0.02), and not by the investigational centers involved in the study. In conclusion, in postmenopausal osteoporotic women, BsmI VDR genotypes influence the efficacy of antiresorptive drugs particularly when used in combination.

In this prospective randomized study we evaluated the effect of risedronate, an aminobisphosphonate, on bone mass and turnover in patients who had undergone allogeneic stem cell transplant (SCT) for hematological malignancies. Thirty-four patients (18 females, 16 males, age 32+/-10 years) with bone mineral density (BMD)