J Korean Soc Endocrinol.  2002 Aug;17(4):535-543.

Effects of Tibolone and Active Vitamin D Combined Treatment on Bone Mineral Density in Korean Postmenopausal Women

• Kim SH
• Rhee YM
• Kim SK
• Kim DJ
• Kim HJ
• Ahn CW
• Cha BS
• Song YD
• Kim KR
• Lee HC
• Huh GB
• Lim SK

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Tibolone is a novel synthetic compound with tissue-specific effects in bone, breast tissue and the endometrium. Tibolone, and active vitamin D, effectively prevent bone loss, and the maintain skeletal integrity of postmenopausal women. The aim of the present study was to examine the effect of tibolone, and active vitamin D (1-hydroxyvitamin D3), therapies given alone, or in combination, against bone loss in postmenopausal women.
METHODS
One hundred and three postmenopausal women were treated with tibolone (n=40), alphacalcidol (n=27) or both drugs (n=36) for 12 months. All subjects took supplemental calcium carbonate (500 mg daily). The bone mineral densities (BMD) of the lumbar spine and proximal femur were measured by dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA) at the baseline and after 12 months.
RESULTS
Tibolone therapy produced significant increase of 4.1 and 1.8% in the BMD at the lumbar spine (p<0.001) and femoral neck (p=0.009), respectively. The combination of tibolone and active vitamin D increased the BMD by 8.0 and 4.4% (p<0.001) at the spine and femoral neck, respectively. The differences in the change of BMD from the baseline at the lumbar spine was significant (p=0.038) in the combination treatment group compared that in the tibolone alone group.
CONCLUSION
Tibolone alone, and in combination with active vitamin D, effectively increased the BMD at all skeletal sites in postmenopausal women. Combination treatment for osteoporosis is emerging as a promising modality in Korean postmenopausal women.

MeSH Terms

Absorptiometry, Photon
Bone Density*
Breast
Calcium Carbonate
Endometrium
Female
Femur
Femur Neck
Humans
Osteoporosis
Spine
Vitamin D*
Vitamins*
Calcium Carbonate
Vitamin D
Vitamins