[Effect of alendronate therapy on bone turnover--results of a multicenter study]

Sodium alendronate is a bisphosphonate of the IInd generation with a strong antiresorptive effect. Its favourable effect on reduction of the incidence of vertebral and non-vertebral fractures was repeatedly confirmed. The objective of the multicentre study was to evaluate the effect of administration of 10 mg of sodium alendronate combined with 1000 mg of elemental calcium administered in the course of three months on the N-terminal telopeptide(NTx) a sensitive marker of bone resorption. The group comprised 275 postmenopausal women with densitometrically confirmed osteoporosis. After three months treatment a 53% decline of NTx values occurred as compared with baseline values. This finding confirms the favourable effect of sodium alendronate on bone remodelling. A decline of the concentration of bone markers is one of the good predictors of the effectiveness of treatment focused on reduction of atraumatic osteoporotic fractures.