Men's Osteoporosis Support Group

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Long-term strontium ranelate

Osteoporos Int. 2009 Jan 20. [Epub ahead of print], Effects of long-term strontium ranelate treatment on vertebral fracture risk in postmenopausal women with osteoporosis. Meunier PJ and others. PMID: 19153678. This study reported the results of four and five years of strontium ranelate therapy in postmenopausal women with osteoporosis. It involved a total of 1,649 osteoporotic women taking 2 g/day of strontium ranelate or placebo for 4 years followed by a 1-year treatment-switch period for half the patients. Vertebral fracture reduction was the primary end point of the study. The authors found a 33% fracture reduction in the strontium ranelate group when compared to placebo. There was also a reduction in back pain in the treatment group. Lumbar spine bone mineral density increased in the group that continued the strontium ranelate for 5 years, but decreased in the group that switched to placebo the fifth year. There was no difference in adverse effects. The authors concluded: "In this 4- and 5-year study, strontium ranelate is an effective and safe treatment for long-term treatment of osteoporosis in postmenopausal women."

Editor's comments: There are several articles on this Website regarding strontium ranelate including an Update that covers multiple articles and issues. Although it is approved for osteoporosis treatment in Europe, it does not yet have FDA approval in the United States. It appears to be effective at increasing BMD and reducing fractures in postmenopausal women with no reports of adverse events that I have seen. It must be taken daily and it has a short half-life, as opposed the the weekly, monthly or yearly dosages available with some of the bisphosphonates and the nearly 10-year half life they have. The Meunier and others study confirms the effectiveness of strontium ranelate and its apparent lack of adverse events. They also show that those positive effects will be lost quickly if people stop taking the medication. This will mean that people unwilling to take the daily medication faithfully will be wasting their time. They should speak to their care provider about some medication that can be taken more infrequently and will thus be easier to comply with.

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