Effectiveness of Teriparatide in women over 75 years of age with severe osteoporosis: 36-month results from the European Forsteo Observational Study (EFOS)

Pharmacologic Interventions for Fracture Risk Reduction in the Oldest Old: What Is the Evidence?

With an increasingly older population, the proportion of patients 85 years or older seeking interventions to protect their musculoskeletal health is growing. Osteoporosis in the geriatric population presents unique diagnostic and therapeutic challenges. Multimorbidity, frailty, falls, polypharmacy, and other neurobehavioral factors influence our approach to fracture prevention in this population. The vast majority of the evidence from clinical trials establish pharmacologic fracture efficacy in postmenopausal women. The evidence is scarce for the oldest old men and women, a population also at risk for adverse events and mortality. Most studies show continued efficacy of pharmacologic interventions in this age group, although they are largely limited by small sample sizes. We herein review the available evidence of pharmacologic interventions for fracture risk reduction in this population and explore the emerging senotherapeutic interventions in the pipeline. © 2021 The Authors. JBMR Plus published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of American Society for Bone and Mineral Research.

A comparative effectiveness pilot study of teriparatide for medication-related osteonecrosis of the jaw: daily versus weekly administration

We studied the effectiveness of teriparatide (TPTD) for treating medication-related osteonecrosis of the jaw (MRONJ) in patients with osteoporosis and examined differences in the clinical outcomes following daily versus weekly TPTD. The outcomes were significantly improved in the entire patient series and the daily group.

PURPOSE

Teriparatide (TPTD) treatment for Stage II-III medication-related osteonecrosis of the jaw (MRONJ) in osteoporotic patients has yielded promising results in uncontrolled studies. The daily administration and the weekly administration of TPTD have been reported to improve outcomes in MRONJ. Herein, we sought to identify differences in the clinical outcomes of MRONJ patients treated with daily TPTD versus weekly TPTD.

METHODS

We enrolled 13 patients and randomly assigned them to receive either of two treatments: 1×/week 56.5-μg TPTD injection for 6 months (weekly group; n = 6 patients after 1 dropout), or 20-μg TPTD injection daily for 6 months (daily group; n = 6 patients). Patients in both groups received conventional therapy plus intensive antibiotic therapy as necessary. We compared the changes in the patients' clinical stage of MRONJ, bone metabolism, percentage of bone formation, and bone turnover markers between the weekly and daily groups.

RESULTS

TPTD treatment with MRONJ led to partial remission or complete remission in 5 daily-group patients and 3 weekly-group patients. The MRONJ stage was significantly improved from baseline to 6 months of treatment in the entire series of 12 patients (p = 0.008); the weekly group did not show significant improvement, but the daily group did (p = 0.01).

CONCLUSIONS

This study provides the first comparison of clinical outcomes between MRONJ patients who received daily or weekly TPTD injections. Six months of treatment with TPTD realized a significant improvement of MRONJ stage in both the entire patient series and the daily group.

Efficacy, cost, and aspects to take into account in the treatment of osteoporosis in the elderly

Age is one of the principal risk factors for development of frailty fractures. Age pyramids show a population that is becoming increasingly more elderly, with an increasing incidence of fractures, and the forecasts for the future are truly alarming. Adequate handling of these patients who are especially at risk, at both the preventive and care levels, with a well-defined orthogeriatric model is necessary to respond to this clinical challenge. The objective of this review is to analyze the efficacy of the different strategies for the handling of geriatric patients with fracture risk.

Effect of Sequential Treatment with Bisphosphonates After Teriparatide in Ovariectomized Rats: A Direct Comparison Between Risedronate and Alendronate

Teriparatide (TPTD), a recombinant human parathyroid hormone N-terminal fragment (1-34), is a widely used bone anabolic drug for osteoporosis. Sequential treatment with antiresorptives such as bisphosphonates after TPTD discontinuation is generally recommended. However, relative effects of bisphosphonates have not been determined. In the present study, we directly compared effects of risedronate (RIS) and alendronate (ALN) on bone mineral density (BMD), bone turnover, structural property and strength in ovariectomized (OVX) rats, when administered after TPTD. Female Sprague Dawley rats were divided into one sham-operated and eight ovariectomized groups. TPTD, RIS, and ALN were given subcutaneously twice per week for 4 or 8 weeks after 4 week treatment with TPTD. TPTD significantly increased BMD (+9.6%) in OVX rats after 4 weeks of treatment. 8 weeks after TPTD withdrawal, vehicle-treated group showed a blunted BMD increase of +8.4% from the baseline. In contrast, 8 weeks of treatment with RIS and ALN significantly increased BMD to 17.4 and 21.8%, respectively. While ALN caused a consistently larger increase in BMD, sequential treatment with RIS resulted in lower Tb.Sp compared to ALN in the fourth lumbar vertebra as well as in greater stiffness in compression test. In conclusion, the present study demonstrated that sequential therapy with ALN and RIS after TPTD both improved bone mass and structure. Our results further suggest that RIS may have a greater effect on improving bone quality and stiffness than ALN despite less prominent effect on BMD. Further studies are necessary to determine clinical relevance of these findings to fracture rate.

Safety and effectiveness of daily teriparatide for osteoporosis in patients with severe stages of chronic kidney disease: post hoc analysis of a postmarketing observational study

Teriparatide (recombinant 1-34 N-terminal sequence of human parathyroid hormone) for the treatment of osteoporosis should be prescribed with caution in patients with severe stages of chronic kidney disease (CKD). However, in clinical settings, physicians and surgeons who treat such patients have few available options. We sought to further explore the safety and effectiveness of teriparatide for the treatment of osteoporosis in Japanese patients with severe stages of CKD. This was a post hoc analysis of a postmarketing surveillance study that included patients with osteoporosis at high risk of fracture and stage 4 or 5 CKD. Patients received subcutaneous teriparatide 20 μg daily for up to 24 months. Safety profiles were assessed by physician-reported adverse drug reactions (ADRs). Effectiveness was assessed by measuring bone formation (via procollagen type 1 N-terminal propeptide [P1NP]), bone mineral density (BMD), and the incidence of clinical vertebral or nonvertebral fragility fractures. A total of 33 patients with severe stages of CKD (stage 4, n=30; stage 5, n=3) were included. All patients were female, and 81.8% had a history of previous fracture. No serious ADRs were recorded; a total of 4 ADRs were recorded for 4 of 33 patients. Increases in BMD and P1NP levels were observed both overall and in most individual patients. New fractures occurred in 1 patient with stage 5 CKD, but not in patients with stage 4 CKD. In this post hoc analysis conducted in Japan, teriparatide appeared to be effective for the treatment of osteoporosis in elderly female patients with severe stages of CKD, and no new safety concerns were observed.

Safety and effectiveness of daily teriparatide in a prospective observational study in patients with osteoporosis at high risk of fracture in Japan: final report

This postmarketing surveillance study assessed the safety and effectiveness of teriparatide in patients with osteoporosis at high risk of fracture in Japan. The patients received teriparatide 20 μg daily by subcutaneous injection, for a maximum of 24 months. Safety and effectiveness analyses were based on data from 1,847 patients who were predominantly female (92.6%) with a mean age of 75.4 years. A total of 157 adverse drug reactions (ADRs) were reported in 140 (7.58%) patients; the most common ADRs were hyperuricemia, nausea, and dizziness. Only six (0.32%) patients reported serious ADRs, the most common being nausea (two patients; 0.1%). Persistence with teriparatide treatment was 60.8% and 39.1% at 18 and 24 months, respectively. There were significant increases in biomarkers for bone formation (procollagen type I N-terminal propeptide and bone-specific alkaline phosphatase) and bone resorption (collagen type I cross-linked C telopeptide and tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase 5b) throughout the study. These were accompanied by significant increases in bone mineral density and low incidences of new vertebral and nonvertebral fractures. Patient-reported measurements for health-related quality of life revealed significant improvements from baseline in back pain and overall health-related quality of life (Short Form-8™ health survey). The results of this 24-month postmarketing surveillance study imply that teriparatide has a favorable safety profile and is effective in the treatment of patients with osteoporosis at high risk of fracture in Japan. Teriparatide may also be a useful treatment for osteoporosis in other societies with aging populations.

Interaction between bone and muscle in older persons with mobility limitations

Aging is associated with a progressive loss of bone-muscle mass and strength. When the decline in mass and strength reaches critical thresholds associated with adverse health outcomes, they are operationally considered geriatric conditions and named, respectively, osteoporosis and sarcopenia. Osteoporosis and sarcopenia share many of the same risk factors and both directly or indirectly cause higher risk of mobility limitations, falls, fractures and disability in activities of daily living. This is not surprising since bones adapt their morphology and strength to the long-term loads exerted by muscle during anti-gravitational and physical activities. Non-mechanical systemic and local factors also modulate the mechanostat effect of muscle on bone by affecting the bidirectional osteocyte-muscle crosstalk, but the specific pathways that regulate these homeostatic mechanisms are not fully understood. More research is required to reach a consensus on cut points in bone and muscle parameters that identify individuals at high risk for adverse health outcomes, including falls, fractures and disability. A better understanding of the muscle-bone physiological interaction may help to develop preventive strategies that reduce the burden of musculoskeletal diseases, the consequent disability in older persons and to limit the financial burden associated with such conditions. In this review, we summarize age-related bone-muscle changes focusing on the biomechanical and homeostatic mechanisms that explain bone-muscle interaction and we speculate about possible pathological events that occur when these mechanisms become impaired. We also report some recent definitions of osteoporosis and sarcopenia that have emerged in the literature and their implications in clinical practice. Finally, we outline the current evidence for the efficacy of available anti-osteoporotic and proposed antisarcopenic interventions in older persons.

Efficacy and safety of currently marketed anti-osteoporosis medications

During the past 2 decades, many interventions were proven effective in the management of postmenopausal osteoporosis. The objective of an anti-osteoporosis treatment is to reduce fracture rates, ideally at all skeletal sites (i.e. spine, hip, and other non-spine). The armamentarium against osteoporosis includes anti-resorptive agents (i.e. bisphosphonates, selective estrogen receptor modulators and denosumab), bone-forming agents (i.e. peptides from the parathyroid hormone family) and one agent with a dual mechanism of action (i.e. strontium ranelate). All these medications combine antifracture efficacy with a reasonable benefit/risk profile. However, the choice of a particular chemical entity, in one individual patient is based on the knowledge and expertise of the physician. Prioritization of drugs should be based on the individual profile of the patient, the severity of osteoporosis and the specific contraindications, warnings and precautions of use of the various available medications.

Effects of teriparatide on lung function and pain relief in women with multiple osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures

BACKGROUND

Osteoporosis is predominantly a condition of the elderly. In this study, we evaluated the effects of teriparatide on lung function and pain relief in elderly women with multiple osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures.

METHODS

A total of 37 patients who received teriparatide treatment during the period January 2010 to December 2011 were enrolled. Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry scans were used to measure bone mineral density (BMD) and lung function was measured using a MasterScreen Body Jaeger spirometer. Forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1) and forced vital capacity (FVC) values were recorded. The Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) and the Visual Analog Scale (VAS) for pain were used to evaluate physical health and pain intensity, respectively, at baseline and after 6 months of teriparatide treatment.

RESULTS

Mean BMD at the lumbar spine increased from 0.716 g/cm(2) at baseline to 0.829 g/cm(2) after 6 months of treatment. In addition, both mean FVC and FEV1 values after 6 months of treatment were significantly higher than baseline values (99.01% and 100.06% vs. 87.62% and 90.62%, respectively). Teriparatide treatment also resulted in a significant reduction in self-reported pain intensity and a significant improvement in physical health as measured by VAS and ODI scores, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

In addition to increasing BMD, teriparatide treatment improves the lung function and results in diminished pain intensity in women with multiple osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures.

Literature review: The effects of teriparatide therapy at the hip in patients with osteoporosis

Teriparatide is a skeletal anabolic treatment for patients with osteoporosis at high risk for fracture. Because adequate clinical trials have not yet been conducted to assess the efficacy of teriparatide for reducing the risk of hip fracture, we review here the literature regarding how treatment with teriparatide affects the hip in patients with osteoporosis. Teriparatide increases cancellous bone volume, improves bone architecture, and - uniquely among osteoporosis treatments - increases cortical thickness and cortical porosity. By bone scan and positron emission tomography, teriparatide increases bone formation throughout the skeleton, including the hip. Consistent with these findings, studies using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry and quantitative computed tomography for longitudinal assessment of changes at the hip have consistently shown increases in areal and volumetric bone mineral density, cortical thickness, and finite element-estimated hip strength in patients treated with teriparatide. Finally, in clinical fracture-outcome trials, treatment with teriparatide has been shown to reduce the risk of nonvertebral fracture, a composite endpoint that includes hip fracture. Taken together, this body of evidence suggests that teriparatide positively affects the hip in patients with osteoporosis.

Novel adipokines and bone metabolism

Osteoporosis is a serious social issue nowadays. Both the high morbidity and its common complication osteoporotic fracture load a heavy burden on the whole society. The adipose tissue is the biggest endocrinology organ that has a different function on the bone. The adipocytes are differentiated from the same cell lineage with osteoblast, and they can secrete multiple adipokines with various functions on bone remolding. Recently, several novel adipokines have been identified and investigated thoroughly. In this paper, we would like to highlight the complicated relation between the bone metabolism and the novel adipokines, and it may provide us with a new target for prediction and treatment of osteoporosis.