title: Efficacy and safety of oral weekly ibandronate in the treatment of postmenopausal osteoporosis.
abstract: Adherence to oral daily bisphosphonate regimens in postmenopausal osteoporosis is currently suboptimal. Less frequent dosing regimens are likely to improve patient adherence and thus, potentially, patient outcomes. A multicenter, randomized, double-blind, noninferiority study was conducted in 235 women (53-80 yr old; time since menopause >/==" BORDER="0"> 3 yr) with postmenopausal osteoporosis [lumbar spine (L1-L4) bone mineral density (BMD) T-score </= -2] to demonstrate the noninferiority of an oral weekly (20 mg) ibandronate regimen compared with an oral daily (2.5 mg) ibandronate regimen. All patients received daily calcium (500 mg) and vitamin D (400 IU). The primary analysis was the relative change in lumbar spine (L1-L4) BMD from baseline after 48 wk in the per- protocol population. Daily and weekly ibandronate significantly increased spinal BMD by 3.47 and 3.53%, respectively, and provided substantial and similar decreases in biochemical markers of bone turnover. In the primary analysis, noninferiority of the weekly regimen to the daily regimen was demonstrated, with the boundary of the one-sided confidence interval, -0.96%, within both the -1.65% prespecified margin and a more stringent margin of -1.10%. These results demonstrate that oral weekly ibandronate provides the same efficacy and safety as oral daily ibandronate in women with postmenopausal osteoporosis.
authors.affiliation: Southampton General Hospital, Medical Research Council Environmental Epidemiology Unit, Southampton, SO16 6YD United Kingdom. cc@mrc.soton.ac.uk
authors.forename: Cyrus
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Cooper
authors.forename: Ronald D
authors.initials: RD
authors.lastname: Emkey
authors.forename: Robert H
authors.initials: RH
authors.lastname: McDonald
authors.forename: Gillian
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Hawker
authors.forename: Gerolamo
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Bianchi
authors.forename: Katie
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Wilson
authors.forename: Ralph C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Schimmer
mesh_terms: D000284:Administration, Oral; D000368:Aged; D015415:Biomarkers; D015519:Bone Density / Q000187:drug effects*; D004164:Diphosphonates / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000009:adverse effects; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D000077557:Ibandronic Acid; D008159:Lumbar Vertebrae / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D008875:Middle Aged; D015663:Osteoporosis, Postmenopausal / Q000188:drug therapy*; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D004164:Diphosphonates; D000077557:Ibandronic Acid