Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2018 May;29(5):1009-1022.
doi: 10.1007/s00198-018-4507-8. Epub 2018 Apr 7.

Anabolic agents: what is beyond osteoporosis?

Affiliations
Review

Anabolic agents: what is beyond osteoporosis?

Y Liu et al. Osteoporos Int. 2018 May.

Abstract

Osteoporosis is a common skeletal disorder characterized by low bone mass, which leads to reduced bone strength and an increased risk of fractures. Anabolic agents have been shown to improve bone mass and decrease fracture risk in osteoporosis patients by directly stimulating osteoblasts to produce new bone. Currently, two anabolic agents are available in the USA: recombinantly produced teriparatide (TPTD), which is the fully active (1-34) amino active sequence of human parathyroid hormone (PTH), and abaloparatide (APTD), a synthetic analog of parathyroid hormone-related peptide (PTHrP). At present, both agents are approved only for treatment of patients with osteoporosis at high risk of fracture. Nonetheless, their anabolic properties have led to off-label application in additional settings which include spine fusion, osteonecrosis of the jaw, arthroplasty, and fracture healing. In this article, we summarize available scientific literature regarding the efficacy, effectiveness, and safety of TPTD in these off-label settings.

Keywords: Anabolic agent; Fracture; Osteoporosis; Teriparatide.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Disclosure:

Yi Liu, Eric Marty, Omer Or, Blossom P. Samuels, Mariya Redko declare that they have no conflict of interest.

References

    1. Ensrud KE, Crandall CJ. Osteoporosis. Ann Intern Med. 2017;167:ITC17–ITC32. - PubMed
    1. Sozen T, Ozisik L, Basaran NC. An overview and management of osteoporosis. Eur J Rheumatol. 2017;4:46–56. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Chew CK, Clarke BL. Abaloparatide: Recombinant human PTHrP (1–34) anabolic therapy for osteoporosis. Maturitas. 2017;97:53–60. - PubMed
    1. Saag KG, Shane E, Boonen S, Marin F, Donley DW, Taylor KA, Dalsky GP, Marcus R. Teriparatide or alendronate in glucocorticoid-induced osteoporosis. N Engl J Med. 2007;357:2028–2039. - PubMed
    1. Canalis E, Giustina A, Bilezikian JP. Mechanisms of anabolic therapies for osteoporosis. N Engl J Med. 2007;357:905–916. - PubMed

MeSH terms