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Analgesic effect of etidronate on degenerative joint disease.

Author(s): Fujita T, Fujii Y, Okada SF, Miyauchi A, Takagi Y

Affiliation(s): Calcium Research Institute, Katsuragi Hospital, Kishiwada, Osaka, Japan.

Publication date & source: 2001, J Bone Miner Metab., 19(4):251-6.

Publication type: Clinical Trial; Randomized Controlled Trial

In the present study, 80 patients with degenerative joint disease, spondylosis deformans, and/or osteoarthritis of the knee with back or joint pain, especially on movement and strain, were randomly divided into four groups. Group A received no etidronate, while groups B, C and D received 66, 133 and 200 mg/day etidronate, respectively, for 12 months. Every 3 months, after evaluating subjective pain on a visual rating scale (VRS), skin impedance was measured with subjects in a quiet sitting position and with the application of various strains on the spine and knee, including standing up from quiet sitting on a chair, bending forward to flex the spine, squatting to flex the knee, walking 20 paces on a flat floor, ascending 10 stair steps and descending 10 stair steps. A dose related improvement of subjective pain on the VRS with a parallel decrease in the percentage fall in skin impedance was noted. The intra-individual coefficients of variation (CV) of L1-L4 bone mineral density (BMD) on dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry were calculated as a possible index for spondylotic changes before and after treatment as an indication of spondylotic deformity, because no established method is yet available to evaluate such changes objectively. A dose-related decrease in CV of BMD was also noted, parallel to the analgesic effect.

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