Zoledronic acid injection in treating 36 patients with postmenopausal osteoporosis

AIM To observe the efficacy and safety of zoledronic acid injection in treatment of postmenopausal osteoporosis(PMO).METHODS In this prospective,self-controlled trial,a total of 36 patients with PMO were enrolled.All patients received a single infusion of zoledronic acid 5 mg plus elemental calcium 600 mg and vitamin D3 125 IU.Bone mineral density(BMD),biochemical markers of bone turnover and serum calcium,renal function were measured.The adverse events were recorded.RESULTS Twelve months after infusion,the BMD of lumbar spine,total hip and femoral neck increased by(0.023 ± 0.046),(0.022 ± 0.042)and(0.019 ± 0.047)g·cm-2(P 0.05).The level of β-C-terminal crosslink of type I collagen(β-CTx),N-MID osteocalcin(N-MID),amino-terminal propeptide of type I collagen(PINP)and alkaline phosphatase(ALP)decreased significantly at 3 months(P 0.01),and remained at low levels at 6 and 12 months,showing significant difference compared with the levels before treatment(P 0.01).There were no obvious changes in levels of serum calcium and renal function(P 0.05).Adverse events were slight and self-relieved,with an overall incidence of 69%(25/36).CONCLUSION Infusion of zoledronic acid 5 mg in treatment of PMO is able to provide a significant clinical efficacy and is well tolerated.