Clinical effect of bisphosphonate and vitamin D on osteoporosis: reappraisal of a multicenter double-blind clinical trial comparing etidronate and alfacalcidol.

What Was Tested

Researchers studied Vitamin D, K2, Magnesium and Zinc in this controlled clinical trial publication.

As inhibitors of bone resorption, bisphosphonates and vitamin D derivatives have been extensively used for the treatment of osteoporosis in various parts of the world, but the clinical effects of these two groups of agents have rarely been compared in detail.

A multicenter, prospective, double-blind controlled study was started comparing the effects of etidronate and alfacalcidol (1-alpha-hydroxycholecalciferol) in 414 patients with established osteoporosis from 36 centers.

Who Took Part

The abstract describes 414 patients taking part.

By PubMed's age tags, the people studied were middle-aged adults, older adults and people over 80, both men and women.

How the Study Was Run

The design is described as double-blind, placebo-controlled and multicenter.

As a double-blind Vitamin D, K2, Magnesium and Zinc study, the assignments were hidden from both participants and investigators until the end.

A placebo (an inactive look-alike) gave the Vitamin D, K2, Magnesium and Zinc group a baseline to be compared against.

Running at several centres spread the Vitamin D, K2, Magnesium and Zinc study over different clinics and patient groups.

What Was Measured

Changes in spinal deformity were also assessed based on the lateral thoracic and lumbar spine X-ray films taken before and after the study.

PubMed files the paper under topics including Bone Density Conservation Agents, Calcium, Creatinine, Etidronic Acid, Hydroxycholecalciferols, Hyperparathyroidism, Secondary and Hyperthyroidism.

What This Means in Plain Language

The paper is a double-blind, placebo-controlled and multicenter study of Vitamin D, K2, Magnesium and Zinc in 414 patients.

With several hundred people or more, it is a fairly large study for this kind of research.

The publication is from 2007 (Journal of bone and mineral metabolism), a journal based in Japan.

More context: the Vitamin D, K2, Magnesium and Zinc compound page, all human trials.