Calcitriol for bone loss in patients with primary biliary cirrhosis.
Because osteoporosis is a common complication of primary biliary cirrhosis, we evaluated the effects of calcitriol (1alpha, 25-dihydroxyvitamin D3) on bone mineral density in 34 women with primary biliary cirrhosis (stage I disease in 16 patients, stage II in 9, stage III in 4, and stage IV in 5). Patients were assigned randomly to receive calcitriol (0.5mg twice a day) or not. Bone mineral density of the lumbar vertebrae was measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry at least twice during a period of 12-43 months. The mean annual change in bone mineral density was 0.1% in the treatment group and -3.1% in the control group. The median annual change (with 25th and 75th percentiles) in bone mineral density was 0.3% (-0.5%, 1.9%) in the treated group and -3.1% (-4.1%, -2.1%) in the control group. This difference between the two groups was significant (P = 0.0007, Mann-Whitney U-test). Our findings suggest that calcitriol prevents bone loss and may be an effective treatment for osteoporosis in patients with primary biliary cirrhosis.
Shiomi
S
S
Third Department of Internal Medicine, Osaka, Japan.
Masaki
K
K
Habu
D
D
Takeda
T
T
Nishiguchi
S
S
Kuroki
T
T
Ochi
H
H
D015502:Absorptiometry, Photon; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D015519:Bone Density / Q000187:drug effects; D002117:Calcitriol / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008105:Liver Cirrhosis, Biliary / Q000150:complications*; D008875:Middle Aged; D010024:Osteoporosis / Q000150:complications* / Q000188:drug therapy*; D012044:Regression Analysis; D013995:Time
D002117:Calcitriol