Bisphosphonates have been proposed as a potential disease-modifying treatment for osteoarthritis (OA); however, it is as yet unclear if this treatment is effective. Evidence from a new meta-analysis raises the question of whether bisphosphonates can reduce damage in OA.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Relevant articles
Open Access articles citing this article.
-
Histological scoring system for subchondral bone changes in murine models of joint aging and osteoarthritis
Scientific Reports Open Access 22 June 2020
Access options
Access Nature and 54 other Nature Portfolio journals
Get Nature+, our best-value online-access subscription
$29.99 / 30 days
cancel any time
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 12 print issues and online access
$209.00 per year
only $17.42 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on SpringerLink
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
References
Vaysbrot, E. E. et al. Are bisphosphonates efficacious in knee osteoarthritis? A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Osteoarthritis Cartilage https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joca.2017.11.013 (2017).
Spector, T. D. et al. Effect of risedronate on joint structure and symptoms of knee osteoarthritis: results of the BRISH randomized, controlled trial. Arthritis Res. Ther. 7, R625–R633 (2004).
Bingham, C. O. et al. Risedronate decreases biochemical markers of cartilage degradation but does not decrease symptoms or slow radiographic progression in patients with medial compartment osteoarthritis of the knee. Arthritis Rheum. 54, 3494–3507 (2006).
Hunter, D. J. et al. Increase in bone marrow lesions associated with cartilage loss: a longitudinal magnetic resonance imaging study of knee osteoarthritis. Arthritis Rheum. 54, 1529–1535 (2006).
Laslett, L. L. et al. Zoledronic acid reduces knee pain and bone marrow lesions over 1 year: a randomized controlled trial. Ann. Rheum. Dis. 71, 1322–1328 (2012).
Vareena, M. et al. Intravenous neridronate in the treatment of acute painful knee osteoarthritis; a randomized controlled study. Rheumatology (Oxford) 53, 1826–1832 (2015).
Rossini, M. et al. Effects of intra-articular clodronate in the treatment of knee osteoarthritis: results of a double-blind, randomized placebo-controlled trial. Rheumatol. Int. 25, 255–263 (2015).
Chen, Y. et al. Subchondral trabecular rod loss and plate thickening in the development of osteoarthritis. J. Bone Miner. Res. https://doi.org/10.1002/jbmr.3313 (2017).
Acknowledgements
The work of N.E.L. is supported in part by NIH grant P50 AR063043 and the endowment for geriatrics and rheumatology at UC Davis.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Competing interests
The author declares no competing financial interests.
PowerPoint slides
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Lane, N. Bisphosphonates and OA — is there a bone and joint connection?. Nat Rev Rheumatol 14, 185–186 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrrheum.2018.18
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nrrheum.2018.18