Perspectives in the use of newer bisphosphonates in the management of established osteoporosis.
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Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to N A Hamdy.
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In patients with renal bone disease skeletal and extra-skeletal abnormalities can be visualised using conventional bone scintigraphy. Some of these abnormalities are associated with characteristic scintigraphic appearances, which are reviewed in detail, and the possible mechanisms involved are discussed. Specific imaging with iodine 123 serum amyloid P component and iodine 131 beta 2-microglobulin is also discussed in the diagnosis of beta 2-microglobulin amyloidosis specific to patients on dialysis. In the light of available evidence, it appears that bone scintigraphy plays, so far, a limited role in the clinical evaluation of skeletal and extra-skeletal abnormalities in chronic renal failure. The potential role of bone scintigraphy in identifying patients with aluminium-related bone disease needs to be investigated further, and in this respect special attention must be given to the problem of high soft-tissue activity associated with impaired renal function. Timing haemodialysis sessions before scintigraphic imaging deserves wider recognition as it reduces high soft-tissue activity, thereby allowing bone uptake to be assessed more accurately. Specific imaging of amyloidosis resulting from beta 2-microglobulin deposition is a promising technique, but the relative value of the two proposed radiopharmaceuticals needs further clarification.
We studied the effect of a single 5 mg intravenous infusion of amino-butylidene diphosphonate (ABDP) in nine patients with hypercalcemia of malignancy, in whom serum calcium values were stable or rising after intravascular volume expansion. Serum calcium fell progressively in all patients and in seven reached the normal reference range by day 6 (p less than 0.001). The decrease in serum calcium was associated with a decrease in the fasting urinary calcium/creatinine ratio (p less than 0.05). Hypercalcemia recurred in seven of the patients by day 12, but two patients remained normocalcemic for 21 days. We conclude that ABDP is a highly potent diphosphonate and that a single intravenous infusion is capable of inhibiting tumour-mediated bone resorption for several days.
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This study examined the effects of aminohydroxybutylidene bisphosphonate in 30 patients with Paget's disease of bone, administered as an intravenous infusion for 5 consecutive days. Treatment (5 mg IV daily) induced marked suppression of biochemical indices of disease activity. Urinary excretion of hydroxyproline fell to 50% of pretreatment values within 2 weeks and was followed by a similar, but later, decline in the serum activity of alkaline phosphatase. Disease activity remained suppressed throughout the 6 months of observation, and only 1 patients showed biochemical signs of an early relapse. Symptomatic improvement was noted in 27 of the 30 patients. Bone biopsies, undertaken in 10 patients, indicated no adverse effects on mineralization. Transient falls were noted in the total white cell count, particularly the lymphocyte and neutrophil fractions, and were associated with short-lived fever in 3 patients. We conclude that short courses of intravenous AHButBP provide a promising treatment for active Paget's disease of bone.
1. We studied the acute effects of intranasal and subcutaneous calcitonin in 40 patients with active Paget's disease of bone. Patients received a single dose of either 400 units of calcitonin delivered as a nasal spray, or 1, 10 or 100 units of subcutaneous calcitonin, or placebo. 2. Subcutaneous salmon calcitonin, administered at doses of 1, 10 and 100 units to nine patients with Paget's disease of bone, induced a dose-dependent fall in the serum calcium. This calcium-lowering effect was not seen with a second group of nine patients receiving placebo. 3. The lower doses of calcitonin had significant effects, and these were more pronounced in patients with lower rates of bone turnover. 4. Four hundred units of calcitonin administered as a nasal spray induced effects qualitatively similar to those seen with subcutaneous calcitonin, with an efficacy equivalent to approximately 30 units of subcutaneous calcitonin. 5. We conclude that the bioequivalence of calcitonin given by intranasal insufflation is low compared with its parenteral administration. The intranasal route may be more appropriate for managing patients with disorders associated with low bone turnover.
1. We have examined the relationship between broadband ultrasound attenuation in the os calcis and measurements of bone mineral in the distal forearm and lumbar spine of normal and postmenopausal osteoporotic women. 2. Values of broadband ultrasound attenuation in postmenopausal women with vertebral osteoporotic fractures were significantly lower (35%) than in normal pre- and peri-menopausal women (55.4 +/- 3.8 and 79.6 +/- 0.8 dB/MHz, respectively). 3. Broadband ultrasound attenuation correlated significantly with bone mineral content measured in the distal forearm by single-photon absorptiometry (r = 0.77, P less than 0.0001) and with bone mineral content (r = 0.66, P less than 0.0001) and bone mineral density (r = 0.72, P less than 0.0001) measured in the lumbar spine by dual-photon absorptiometry. 4. Although significant, these correlations are not sufficiently close to be predictive. However, the accuracy of broadband ultrasound attenuation in discriminating between normal subjects and patients with vertebral fracture compared very favourably with direct measurements in the spine by dual-photon absorptiometry. 5. Broadband ultrasound attenuation, but not the other measurements, correlated significantly with age in the osteoporotic patients (r = 0.50, P less than 0.05). 6. These findings may reflect the partial dependence of broadband ultrasound attenuation on the intrinsic trabecular architecture of cancellous bone, the disruption of which contributes to an increase in fracture risk.
We have examined the effects of the diphosphonate, clodronate, in 9 haemodialysis patients with severe hyperparathyroid bone disease. Clodronate (300-600 mg infused after dialysis on 5 consecutive occasions) significantly decreased mean serum calcium, phosphate and hydroxyproline. This was associated with an increase in serum immunoassayable parathyroid hormone and activity of alkaline phosphatase. These changes reversed 2-4 weeks after stopping treatment but were sustained when treatment with oral clodronate (1.6 g daily) was supplemented for 2 weeks. Our findings suggest that intravenous clodronate is capable of inhibiting osteoclast-mediated bone resorption in chronic renal failure. The therapeutic potential of clodronate alone or with vitamin D derivatives merits further evaluation, particularly in patients with severe hyperparathyroidism, when the use of D metabolites alone is precluded by the presence of hypercalcaemia.
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We studied the effects of intravenous calcitriol in four persistently hypercalcaemic patients established on haemodialysis. All had marked hyperparathyroidism and had been previously shown to be intolerant to vitamin D by mouth. Calcitriol was administered at the end of each dialysis session in doses of 0.5-2.5 micrograms for 2 months and continued for 7 and 8 months in two patients. A significant decrease in serum calcium was observed after 2 weeks, which was maintained throughout treatment despite increasing the dose of calcitriol. This was associated with a decrease in serum concentrations of iPTH (28% of the initial value at 4 weeks), suggesting a shift in the set-point for PTH secretion. During longer-term treatment, serum calcium values increased, but lower concentrations of iPTH were maintained. We conclude that an increment in serum calcium is not a prerequisite for the suppressive action of calcitriol on parathyroid secretion and that the presence of hypercalcaemia does not preclude its use. Longer-term studies on a larger number of patients are required to assess the therapeutic potential of intravenous calcitriol in hypercalcaemic patients.
We evaluated the phosphate-binding efficiency of Sorbiphos, a non-toxic aluminium-free natural polymer, in five volunteers aged 28-34 years with normal renal function. After an overnight fast, a placebo, 2 g of Sorbiphos or a therapeutic dose of Alu-Cap (950 mg) were given, 30 min before a dietary load of phosphorus. Serum and urinary phosphate were measured on hourly samples. A similar increment in serum and urine phosphate was noted after the ingestion of placebo or Sorbiphos, but both serum and urine phosphate increased less after Alu-Cap. Since the recommended dose of Sorbiphos is half that of Alu-Cap, we conclude that Sorbiphos has little phosphate-binding efficiency in normal subjects given moderate phosphate loads.
Over the past decade important advances in our understanding of the pathophysiology and treatment of renal osteodystrophy have been made. In particular, the role of calcitriol deficiency in the genesis of hyperparathyroidism in early renal failure is now better understood. So too are the effects of aluminium on bone, and whereas the more florid aluminium related disease is now unusual the more subtle effects of aluminium are now being appreciated. There is still a major problem in the long-term treatment of hyperparathyroid bone disease. The reasons why parathyroid gland proliferation continues to occur on dialysis therapy require a better understanding of cellular events regulating hormone production and parathyroid cell replication. The case for early intervention with vitamin D is now strong but whether such an approach materially influences the long-term outcome is not yet established. Changes in the approach to treatment and in the modalities used for renal replacement therapy will continue to modify the nature of the bone disease.
1. The effects of three intravenous diphosphonates (etidronate, clodronate and aminohexane diphosphonate) on phosphate homoeostasis were studied in 30 patients with Paget's disease of bone and in three patients with hypoparathyroidism. 2. In Paget's disease, all three diphosphonates induced significant increases in serum phosphate and renal tubular reabsorption of phosphate. This effect was most marked and persistent after etidronate, whereas in the clodronate- and aminohexane diphosphonate-treated patients the increases were less, of shorter duration and followed thereafter by significant decreases in serum phosphate and renal tubular reabsorption of phosphate. Unlike etidronate, both clodronate and aminohexane diphosphonate caused a significant reduction in serum and urinary calcium, with appropriate homoeostatic increases in immunoassayable parathyroid hormone. 3. Phosphaturic responses to infused parathyroid hormone were observed in two patients with etidronate-induced hyperphosphataemia. 4. In three hypoparathyroid patients, clodronate induced a more marked increase in serum phosphate and renal tubular reabsorption of phosphate than in Paget's disease, which was of comparable degree but of shorter duration than that after etidronate in Paget's disease. 5. These findings suggest that all three diphosphonates increase renal tubular reabsorption of phosphate, but that this effect is attenuated with those diphosphonates which induce secondary hyperparathyroidism.
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The induction of hypercalcemia in malignant disease is almost invariably associated with increased bone resorption. However, tumor-induced changes in bone formation and renal tubular resorption of calcium are also important factors that induce hypercalcemia in some patients. In addition, alterations in calcium fluxes to and from the extracellular fluid secondary to hypercalcemia are important in maintaining or aggravating the hypercalcemic effects of increased bone resorption. These factors significantly affect the responses to treatment of hypercalcemia with inhibitors of bone resorption. This study examined the relative importance of these factors and the effects of intravenous etidronate disodium (etidronate) in neoplastic bone disease with and without hypercalcemia and in Paget's disease of bone. It is concluded that intravenous etidronate is an effective inhibitor of bone resorption, which accounts in large measure for its effects on serum calcium concentrations. These studies of etidronate in hypercalcemia suggest the response is sustained for several weeks.
We studied the effects of the intravenous or oral administration of aminohexane diphosphonate (AHDP) in 42 patients with active Paget's disease of bone. Treatment of mouth (400 mg daily for 1 month) or intravenously (25 mg or 50 mg daily for 5 days) induced marked suppression of biochemical indices of disease activity. Urinary excretion of hydroxyproline fell to 39 and 42% of pretreatment values (oral and IV treatments respectively), and was followed by a similar decrease in the serum activity of alkaline phosphatase. In both groups of patients, disease activity remained suppressed for the 6 months of followup, and pain improved in 34 out of 37 patients who had bone pain attributed to Paget's disease. Both biopsies indicated that osteoblast and osteoclast numbers decreased with no adverse effects on mineralization. Neither regime was associated with significant side effects. We conclude that short courses of AHDP provide a promising treatment for the long-term control of Paget's disease.
We studied the effects of intravenous clodronate (100-300 mg daily for 3-10 days) in 27 episodes of hypercalcaemia due to malignancy. Comparisons were also made between responses in patients with haematological malignancies and those with solid tumours. Following extracellular volume expansion, clodronate induced a significant decrease in serum calcium within 2 days of the start of treatment which was maximal at 7 days. This was associated with a decrease in bone resorption as judged by decreases in urinary excretion of hydroxyproline and calcium. Hypercalcaemia recurred 5-7 days after stopping treatment. Patients with solid tumours had higher pretreatment serum calcium values than those with haematological malignancies despite comparable values for fasting urinary excretion of calcium suggesting that renal tubular reabsorption of calcium was more markedly increased in patients with solid tumours. No difference was observed in the final calcium values between patients with solid tumours and haematological malignancies except in those patients in whom renal tubular reabsorption of calcium was markedly increased before treatment. We conclude that intravenous clodronate provides a safe and effective treatment of hypercalcaemia due to a wide range of tumour types provided that increased bone resorption contributes significantly to the hypercalcaemia. When increased renal reabsorption of calcium is the predominant mechanism for the maintenance of hypercalcaemia, the response to clodronate is incomplete.