title: [How do bisphosphonates improve bone quality?].
abstract: Accumulating evidence indicates that positive effects on bone mineral density of several promising drugs for osteoporosis do not completely account for their anti-fracture effects. Among anti-osteoporosis drugs, effects of bisphosphonates on the reduction in fracture risk are well correlated with those on the increase in bone mineral density. Even in bisphosphonates, at most 50% of their anti-fracture effect is estimated to be independent of the increase in bone mineral density. This suggests that bisphosphonates improve bone quality composed of bone architecture, matrix composition and mineralization. Bone quality is an emerging issue to be explored with an investigation of bone biopsy specimen and 3-dimensional structural analyses using micro computed tomography.
authors.affiliation: Division of Endocrinology and Nephrology, Department of Medicine, University of Tokyo School of Medicine.
authors.forename: Yasuhiro
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Takeuchi
mesh_terms: D001842:Bone and Bones / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D002113:Calcification, Physiologic / Q000187:drug effects; D002648:Child; D004164:Diphosphonates / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006801:Humans; D010024:Osteoporosis / Q000188:drug therapy
chemical_list: D004164:Diphosphonates