Premium
Raloxifene improves bone mass in osteopenic women with primary biliary cirrhosis: results of a pilot study
Author(s) -
Levy Cynthia,
Harnois Denise M.,
Angulo Paul,
Jorgensen Roberta,
Lindor Keith D.
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
liver international
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.873
H-Index - 110
eISSN - 1478-3231
pISSN - 1478-3223
DOI - 10.1111/j.1478-3231.2005.01026.x
Subject(s) - raloxifene , medicine , primary biliary cirrhosis , femoral neck , osteoporosis , bone mineral , adverse effect , gastroenterology , urology , liver disease , bone density , population , estrogen receptor , cancer , breast cancer , environmental health
Background/Aims: Bone disease is common in patients with primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC). Our aim was to evaluate safety and efficacy of raloxifene in this population. Methods: Nine postmenopausal women with PBC were enrolled and seven completed the study. Subjects received raloxifene 60 mg daily for 1 year. Each patient on raloxifene was age‐matched to three controls. Liver biochemistries were monitored periodically; bone mineral density (BMD) of the lumbar spine (LS) and femoral neck (FN) was measured at baseline and at 1 year. Results: No significant adverse effects were reported. Liver biochemistries remained unchanged. Baseline LS‐BMD was similar in the treatment group and controls [median 0.720 g/cm 2 (range 0.620–0.867) vs. 0.740 g/cm 2 (0.570–1.040), P =0.5]. Conclusion: Compared with baseline, LS‐BMD improved significantly with 1 year of therapy [0.72 g/cm 2 (0.62–0.87) vs. 0.74 g/cm 2 (0.63–0.97), P =0.02]. FN‐BMD remained stable [0.53 g/cm 2 (0.50–0.60) vs. 0.54 g/cm 2 (0.49–0.63), P =0.6]. Improvement in LS BMD was seen in patients on raloxifene but not in matched controls [0.02 g/cm 2 (0.01–0.10) vs. 0.00 g/cm 2 (−0.120–0.040), P =0.06)]. In conclusion, raloxifene appears safe and of benefit in preventing bone loss in patients with PBC. Larger studies with longer follow‐up are warranted.