Progression of coronary artery calcification in patients taking alendronate for osteoporosis

As with their actions on bone, bisphosphonates may play a role in coronary artery calcification (CAC) by inhibiting calcium resorption from plaque. The objective of this study was to determine whether the osteoporosis treatment agent alendronate accelerates the rate of CAC.

The study was a pilot comparative analysis of 56 alendronate-treated patients with osteoporosis compared with 56 control subjects matched for age, sex, risk factors, and CAC scores and with a reference cohort that included 213 control subjects. Patients received alendronate sodium (10 mg daily) for a mean of 24 months and underwent annual assessment of CAC with electron-beam computed tomography and bone mineral density with dual x-ray absorptiometry. The principal outcome measure was the rate of change in CAC score in patients and control populations.

There was significant progression of CAC in both alendronate-treated and matched-control groups (paired t test, P = .004 and .006, respectively) but no difference in the rates of CAC progression between the alendronate-treated patients and either the matched or reference control cohort.

This small pilot study indicates that oral alendronate administration does not accelerate the rate of CAC, but a larger cohort should be studied to confirm these findings.