A 2 yr longitudinal radiographic study examining the effect of a bisphosphonate (risedronate) upon subchondral bone loss in osteoarthritic knee patients.

OBJECTIVES

To determine whether risedronate (RIS) slows down trabecular bone loss in the medial compartment of the proximal tibia, a characteristic of patients with progressive knee osteoarthritis (OA).

METHODS

Initially, 100 patients were randomly selected from each treatment group (each N approximately 300) comprising placebo and RIS 5 mg/day, 15 mg/day and 50 mg/week from a double blind, multi-centre, placebo-controlled, 2 yr investigation of OA knee patients in North America. Using fluoroscopic semi-flexed standard radiography, baseline and exit knee radiographs were digitized by laser scanner. Following computerized measurement of minimum medial compartment joint space width, each group was subdivided into joint space narrowing (JSN) non-progressor or JSN-progressor (JSN >or=0.6 mm measured at any point post-baseline). Computerized method of fractal signature analysis (FSA) quantified longitudinal changes separately in horizontal and vertical trabeculae in region of interest (three-fourth width of tibial compartment x 6 mm height) in the medial compartment. Following the initial study, all JSN-progressor knees within the entire patient cohort (N = 1232) were similarly analysed.

RESULTS

OA knees in JSN non-progressor group had a slight decrease in FSA for vertical and horizontal trabeculae and showed no drug effect. In JSN-progressor knees, bone loss was greater in both placebo and RIS 5 mg/day groups compared with those in RIS 15 mg/day group in which trabeculae were retained, and in the RIS 50 mg/week group in which the vertical trabecular number increased significantly (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSION

This preliminary study showed that patients with marked cartilage loss (JSN>or=0.6 mm) receiving RIS 15 mg/day retained vertical trabecular structure, and those receiving RIS 50 mg/week increased vertical trabecular number, thereby preserving the structural integrity of subchondral bone in knee OA.