Spine Surgery and Related Research (Apr 2018)

The effects of minodronate and activated vitamin D on bone mineral density and muscle mass in postmenopausal women with osteoporosis

  • Kazuki Fujimoto,
  • Kazuhide Inage,
  • Toru Toyoguchi,
  • Yawara Eguchi,
  • Sumihisa Orita,
  • Kazuyo Yamauchi,
  • Miyako Suzuki,
  • Gou Kubota,
  • Takeshi Sainoh,
  • Jun Sato,
  • Yasuhiro Shiga,
  • Koki Abe,
  • Hirohito Kanamoto,
  • Masahiro Inoue,
  • Hideyuki Kinoshita,
  • Masaki Norimoto,
  • Tomotaka Umimura,
  • Masao Koda,
  • Takeo Furuya,
  • Junichi Nakamura,
  • Tsutomu Akazawa,
  • Atsushi Terakado,
  • Kazuhisa Takahashi,
  • Seiji Ohtori

DOI
https://doi.org/10.22603/ssrr.2017-0016
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 2, no. 2
pp. 148 – 153

Abstract

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Introduction: Osteoporosis and sarcopenia are said to be similar disorders. However, few reports have described the effects of anti-osteoporosis drugs on muscle mass in clinical practice. Methods: We selected 150 postmenopausal women with osteoporosis treated by minodronate (osteoporosis medication [OM] group) and 50 postmenopausal women without osteoporosis who did not receive treatment (no osteoporosis [NO] group). The OM group was further divided into two treatment subgroups: a combination of monthly minodronate and daily activated vitamin D vs. monthly minodronate alone. We measured lumbar spine and femoral neck bone mineral density (BMD) with dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry and muscle mass of the upper limbs, lower limbs, and trunk with bioelectrical impedance analysis at baseline and after 6 months. Results: The OM and NO groups contained 130 and 37 patients, respectively (mean age: 73.9 ± 8.3 and 74.1 ± 10.0 years, respectively). In the OM group, lumbar spine BMD significantly increased after 6 months, while lower limb muscle mass significantly decreased. In the NO group, lumbar spine BMD and lower limb muscle mass did not significantly change after 6 months. In the OM group, BMD of the lumbar spine significantly increased but the lower limb muscle mass significantly decreased after 6 months relative to the NO group. In the combination therapy subgroup of the OM group muscle mass decreased significantly less than in the minodronate-alone subgroup. Conclusions: In postmenopausal women with osteoporosis, minodronate can increase BMD but cannot increase muscle mass. However, simultaneous use of activated vitamin D can suppress muscle mass decrease. The combination of activated vitamin D and minodronate may be useful for treating osteoporosis in postmenopausal women.

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