Treatment of glucocorticoid-induced osteoporosis in rheumatoid arthritis patients with alfacalcidol versus risedronate

Introduction Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients are, as a consequence of their disease and its treatment, believed to have an increased risk for osteoporosis. As inhibitors of bone resorption, bisphosphonates are becoming widely used in the management of postmenopausal and glucocorticoid-induced osteoporosis (GIO). Also vitamin D and calcium therapy has been used for the treatment of GIO. However, there was no head-to-head comparison of these two medicines for the treatment of GIO. The aim of our study was to evaluate the efficacy of the active metabolic alfacalcidol compared with the risedronate in patients with RA receiving glucocorticoids.