Beneficial effect of etidronate on bone loss after cessation of exercise in postmenopausal osteoporotic women

Abstract

Objectives: To determine whether etidronate could prevent or restore bone loss after cessation of exercise in postmenopausal osteoporotic women.

Design: Thirty-five postmenopausal osteoporotic women were studied. Exercise consisted of daily brisk walking and gymnastic training. The changes in the lumbar bone mineral density measured by dual energy x-ray absorptiometry were assessed.

Results: One or two years of exercise increased the bone mineral density from the baseline. One year of cessation of exercise after 1 yr of exercise resulted in the loss of the bone mineral density gained through exercise. Two years of cyclical etidronate treatment from year 2 sustained the bone mineral density during 2 yr of cessation of exercise in the preventative etidronate treatment group and completely restored the loss of bone mineral density after 1 yr of cessation of exercise in the therapeutic etidronate treatment group.

Conclusions: Cyclical etidronate treatment, when exercise is discontinued, seems to be beneficial for the prevention or restoration of bone loss after cessation of exercise in postmenopausal osteoporotic women. Although the present study has a small sample size, the results may be interesting, especially because they raise additional questions that could stimulate further research.