Osteoporosis Drug Helps Hip, Knee OA

St George’s, University of London research has found that a drug normally given to osteoporosis sufferers could provide effective pain relief to patients with knee and hip osteoarthritis (OA). The researchers used existing studies to assess the effectiveness of a variety of bisphosphonates in patients suffering from osteoarthritis of the hand, knee, spine and hips.

The researchers looked at 3, 832 patients; in most cases these drugs showed limited pain relief. However, a few studies did show benefit; the bisphosphonate alendronate was found to be more effective for patients with hip osteoarthritis than existing pain relieving drugs. Moreover, the use of zoledronate and alendronate, specific forms of bisphosphonates, improved pain in patients with knee and hip osteoarthritis at six months—but longer term studies are needed.

Dr. Nidhi Sofat, lead researcher, said in the September 5, 2013 news release, “Osteoarthritis is the most common form of arthritis worldwide. It causes damage to bone and cartilage in the joints of affected people. Most treatment is focused around pain relief, as no robust treatments have been discovered that slow down the progression of the disease.

“Our study looked at whether there were any bisphosphonate drugs that have been shown to influence pain and/or disease progression that could be used in osteoarthritis treatment.

“We found that, generally, bisphosphonates are ineffective at managing pain associated with osteoarthritis. But zoledronate and alendronate, which are specific forms of bisphosphonates, do show the potential for effective pain management specifically in patients with knee and hip osteoarthritis.

Dr. Sofat told OTW, “We looked at the use of bisphosphonates in osteoarthritis since OA pain is a major public health concern and there are currently no long-term disease-modifying drugs that are used in OA with proven efficacy. Our most surprising finding was that although we reviewed data from 3, 832 patients in studies worldwide, there was high variability in patient selection and different studies looked at different sites of OA, including the hand, knees, hips and spine. Future studies are needed of bisphosphonates in osteoarthritis in clearly defined subsets of patients, coupled with robust radiographic analysis by cartilage integrity, BML size/composition, synovitis, joint space narrowing and evaluation of clinical biomarkers to more fully evaluate agents that could halt the onset and/or progression of osteoarthritis.”