The action of Strontium ranelate: myth or reality.

The present study aimed to show whether the Strontium ranelate was the dual action possessing either antiresorptive or formative properties. This retrograded study included 56 postmenopausal women using the biological bone turnover markers as an evaluation. The antiresorptive property described by the mean value of Beta-crossLap or bCTx before taking 2 grams of Strontium ranelate per day was 0.377 ng/ml compared with the mean of CTx after the 3-month treatment which was 0.409 (p = 0.083) ng/ml. The result indicated that this agent could not suppress the bone resorption, otherwise Strontium ranelate was not able to control the progress of bone resorption. It was found that 67.92 per cent showed the uncontrollable resorption. In addition, the bone formation monitored by PINP was diminished 34.54% and only 60% of the bone formation values was little increased but still below normal (44.5 ng/ml) while 1.8% was no response. The present study displayed that the Strontium ranelate was neither antiresorptive nor formative actions and it was certainly not a dual action via the method of biological bone turnover markers.