Osteoclast inhibitory effects of vitamin K2 alone or in combination with etidronate or risedronate in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: 2-year results

What Was Tested

This randomized controlled trial paper looks at Vitamin D, K2, Magnesium and Zinc in the context of rheumatoid arthritis.

To investigate the effects of vitamin K2 (Vit K2) alone or in combination with etidronate and risedronate on bone loss, osteoclast induction, and inflammation in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Who Took Part

According to the abstract, 79 patients were involved.

PubMed indexes the participants as middle-aged adults and older adults, both men and women.

Subjects comprised 79 patients with RA who were receiving prednisolone, divided into 3 groups: Group K, Vit K2 alone; Group KE, Vit K2 plus etidronate; and Group KR, Vit K2 plus risedronate.

During a 24-month treatment and followup period, levels of N-terminal telopeptide of type I collagen (NTx) and bone alkaline phosphatase were measured.

How the Study Was Run

In design terms this was a randomized study.

Because people in this Vitamin D, K2, Magnesium and Zinc study were split into groups at random, differences between the groups are less likely to reflect who happened to join each one.

A time span of 24 months appears in the methods.

Bone mineral density (BMD) of the 3 groups was measured using dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry.

Damage score to fingers on radiographic findings were measured according to the Larsen method.

Serum levels of receptor activator of nuclear factor-kappaB ligand (RANKL) and osteoprotegerin (OPG) were measured.

What Was Measured

The subject headings attached to it are Alkaline Phosphatase, Arthritis, Rheumatoid, Bone Density, Bone Density Conservation Agents, Cohort Studies, Collagen Type I and Etidronic Acid.

What This Means in Plain Language

The paper is a randomized study of Vitamin D, K2, Magnesium and Zinc in 79 patients in people with rheumatoid arthritis over 24 months.

Results are reported in around 5 sentences of the abstract; we leave them to the paper itself rather than summarise them.

The publication is from 2008 (The Journal of rheumatology), a journal based in Canada.

More context: the Vitamin D, K2, Magnesium and Zinc compound page, Rheumatoid arthritis research.