| Objective To investigate the clinical efficacy and safety of different therapeutic regimens of alendronate in the treatment and prevention of senile osteoporosis. Methods A random parallel controlled study was performed. Six hundred consecutive senile patients with osteoporosis were included. All the patients were divided into 2 groups according to the interval of drug administration. Patients in Group A had regular interval, taking an oral medication of 70mg alendronate once a week, while patients in Group B had long interval, taking an oral medication of 70mg alendronate once 2 weeks. Patients in both groups also took 600mg Caltrate D per day simultaneously. Bone mineral density (BMD) in both groups was detected before the treatment and at the 26th week and the 52nd week after the treatment, respectively. The serum levels of serum calcium, phosphorus, ALP, and urinary calcium/creatine were also detected before the treatment and at the 13th week and 52nd week after the treatment. The adverse events and the occurrence of new fractures were also observed. Results Compared with that before the treatment, BMD at the 26th week and the 52nd week after the treatment increased significantly (P<0.05), while the changing rate of BMD in both groups showed no significant difference (P>0.05). Compared with that before the treatment, the serum levels of ALP and urinary calcium/creatine decreased significantly (P<0.01), while the serum levels of calcium and phosphorus showed no significant changes. The effective rate after 52-week treatment in Group A and Group B was 85.31% and 84.89%, respectively, and no significant difference was observed (P>0.05). The rate of adverse events was 9.09% and 3.60%, respectively, and the difference was significant (P<0.01). No new fractures were observed in both groups. Conclusion The application of alendronate in the treatment and prevention of senile osteoporosis is safe and effective. Compared with that with regular interval, the clinical efficacy of medication with longer interval is similar, but the rate of adverse events is lower, and the treatment is much more convenient and economical. Therefore, the intermittent, lose-dosage therapeutic regimen of alendronate should be recommended in clinical practice. |