VALENCIA--25 Mar--PRNewswire-AsiaNet/InfoQuest
Protelos(R) (strontium ranelate) has significantly greater bone-forming activity than the commonly prescribed bisphosphonate, alendronate, according to results of the largest-ever biopsy study in post-menopausal women presented today at the European Congress on Osteoporosis and Osteoarthritis (ECCEO011-IOF) in Valencia.[i] Through its unique dual impact on both bone formation and resorption, Protelos substantially reduces fracture risk, the primary goal of osteoporosis treatment.
Bone biopsy is the gold standard technique used to examine the effect of osteoporosis treatments on bone. Bone biopsies involve taking a cylindrical sample of real bone from the upper part of the pelvis called the iliac crest. Biopsies allow the identification of non-mineralized (osteoid tissue) and mineralized subparts of the bone matrix and can be used to measure bone formation rates and other parameters. Bone formation is measured by examining mineralizing surface, the proportion of bone surface on which new mineralized bone is being deposited.
In this international, double blind study of 268 women, Protelos has a significantly greater effect on mineralizing surface compared to alendronate. After six months, mineralizing surface, expressed as a percentage of bone surface (the study's primary endpoint) was 2.94% in Protelos patients compared to 0.20% in patients receiving alendronate (p