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AAP Grand Rounds 4:55-56 (2000)
© 2000 American Academy of Pediatrics

RHEUMATOLOGY/METABOLISM

Oral Bisphosphonate Effective Therapy for Osteoporosis

Source: Bianchi ML, Cimaz R, Bardare M, et al. Efficacy and safety of alendronate for the treatment of osteoporosis in diffuse connective tissue diseases in children: a prospective multicenter study. Arthritis Rheum. 2000;43:1960–1966.

The first 20% of the full text of this article appears below.

The effect of an oral bisphosphonate on bone mass in children with diffuse connective tissue disease was evaluated in this prospective, multicenter Italian trial. Thirty-eight children (26 females) with low bone mass secondary to a variety of rheumatologic conditions were treated for 1 year with alendronate (5mg/d, wt <20kg; 10mg/d, wt >20kg), an oral bisphosphonate. All patients met the criteria of a spine bone mass density (BMD) Z-score of less than –1.5 (nl 0 or above) and one of the following: 1) history of bone fragility fractures (n=5); 2) history of continuous glucocorticoid therapy for at least 6 months (n=30); 3) both a history of fractures and steroid therapy (n=3). A control group of patients with similar . . . [Full Text of this Article]

Susan H. Ballinger, MD, FAAP
Rheumatology, James Whitcomb Riley Hospital, Indianapolis, IN