After five and a half years of taking strontium citrate (680
mg strontium daily), I went from osteoporosis to osteopenia. I was probably at
the osteopenia stage much earlier, but I waited four years between my previous
DEXA scan, which showed improvement at all sites but still left me with
osteoporosis, and this one. My density increased 34% in the lumbar spine and
55% in the left hip! These numbers are phenomenal! Even if up to 50% of the
change in BMD were attributed to the effect of strontium, which has a higher
atomic number than calcium and will affect DEXA measurements, the numbers would
still be great. My BMD is now 0.871 g/cm2 at the spine from L1- L4 (T-score -1.6),
0.692 g/cm2 at the left femoral neck (-1.4 T-score), and 0.775 g/cm2 at the
left total hip (-1.4 T-score). Osteopenia is defined as T-scores < -1.0 and
-2.5.
Human Skeleton
Sunday, September 1, 2013
Monday, August 26, 2013
Non-Invasive Measurement of Bone Strontium Levels
Many of you have probably read that
the only way to measure the amount of strontium in bone is to do a bone biopsy.
That is no longer true, at least not in a research setting. A case study
published last year in Bone used an in vivo X-ray
fluorescence (IVXRF) I-125 based system to measure bone strontium levels
non-invasively in an osteoporotic female volunteer before and after she began
taking strontium citrate supplements (680 mg Sr/day).
Thirty-minute
measurements were taken at the finger and ankle bone sites, representing
primarily cortical and trabecular bone, respectively. Baseline natural strontium levels were obtained followed by a 24h measurement of first
intake of strontium citrate supplements (680 mg Sr/day). The baseline levels of
strontium (prior to supplementation) were 0.38 ± 0.05 and 0.39 ± 0.10 for the
finger and ankle, respectively. After 24 hrs the levels were 0.62 ± 0.14 and
0.45 ± 0.12 for the finger and ankle, respectively. By 120 h, the increase was
statistically significant at 0.68 ± 0.07 and 0.93 ± 0.05, respectively. Further
increases occurred within an interval of 90-180 days, with the most recent,
after 800 days, at the finger and ankle being 7 and 15 times higher than the
initial baseline reading. The results show bone strontium incorporation and retention follow a pattern and suggest strontium levels, at least in the ankle, do not plateau within two to three years and will continue to increase over time, as an individual takes strontium supplements. The ability of this IVXRF system to monitor and measure bone strontium levels over time provides a useful diagnostic tool to help gain insight into strontium bone kinetics.
Monday, August 5, 2013
Healing Fractures with Strontium Ranelate
Age and bone
quality are the two most important factors influencing the fracture healing
process. Cellular and molecular alterations in elderly patients may lead to pseudarthrosis
(nonunion), i.e., a fracture that has not united in the stipulated time in
which such fractures usually unite and has no chance of union without
intervention. In the same way, in altered bone metabolism conditions, such as
osteoporosis, physiological phases of fracture healing are impaired.
Two women with
fractures that would not heal were started on strontium ranelate (2g/day),
calcium (1200 mg/day), and vitamin D (800 IU/day). Patient B.G. was a
57-year-old Caucasian woman with osteopenia and a fracture of the right distal
radius and ulna. Patient S.L. was a 59-year-old Caucasian woman with
osteoporosis and a fracture of the base of the fifth metatarsal in the left
foot. Their case studies showed healing of fractures in a short period of time
after drug and supplement intervention.
Read more about
these fascinating studies, which contain figures of several radiographs and a
CT scan, at http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2898010/
Monday, April 29, 2013
EMA Confirms Recommendations to Restrict Strontium Ranelate
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) has confirmed the recommendations to restrict the use of strontium ranelate (Protelos/Osseor, Servier) due to concerns about the risk of adverse
cardiac events. The EMA's Pharmacovigilance Risk Assessment
Committee (PRAC) recommended the restrictions earlier this month, and the
Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) has now endorsed these following its meeting of April 22-25, 2013. The
CHMP opinion will be sent to the European Commission, the executive branch of
the European Union, which will issue a legally binding decision.
Tuesday, April 23, 2013
Strontium and Your Heart
A committee of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) has
recommended the following restrictions in the use of strontium ranelate (sold
in the European Union under the brand names Protelos and Osseor) to reduce the
risk of adverse cardiac events:
1a. Strontium ranelate should only be used for the treatment
of severe osteoporosis in postmenopausal women at high risk for fracture and
severe osteoporosis in men at increased risk for fracture.
2a.Strontium ranelate should not be used in patients with
current or past history of ischemic heart disease (such as angina or MI),
peripheral arterial disease (PAD), or cerebrovascular disease.
3a.Strontium ranelate should not be used in patients with
hypertension that is not controlled by treatment.
What, if anything,
should those of us taking strontium citrate do?
Here is what I think.
1b. Strontium citrate can be used as a supplement by men and
women with osteopenia or osteoporosis. (I believe the first restriction on
strontium ranelate is mostly for cost containment because bisphosphonates,
especially the generic equivalents, are much cheaper than strontium ranelate.)
2b. Strontium citrate can be used UNDER MEDICAL SUPERVISION
in patients with current or past history of ischemic heart disease, PAD, or
cerebrovascular disease.
3b. Strontium citrate should not be used in patients with uncontrolled
hypertension. Patients must get their hypertension under control by medication.
Strontium citrate can be used UNDER MEDICAL SUPERVISION in patients with
hypertension that is controlled by treatment.
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
Vitamin D Supplements and USP Verification
Vitamin D supplement potency varies widely, and the amount of vitamin D in
over-the-counter and compounded supplements does not necessarily match the
amount listed on the label, according to a research letter published February
11, 2013, in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine.
The analysis showed that the amount of vitamin D in these supplements
ranged from 9 percent to 146 percent of the amount listed on the label. Not
only was there variation among different brands and manufacturers, but also
among different pills from the same bottle. The researchers were surprised by
the variation in potency among these vitamin D pills. The greatest concern is that
individuals with low levels of vitamin D in their blood and consistently taking
a supplement with little vitamin D in it, could face health consequences.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is considering new safety guidelines
for some supplements, but, for the most part, the industry remains unregulated.
Some manufacturers participate in a voluntary quality verification program
operated by the U.S. Pharmacopeial Convention (USP) — an independent, nonprofit
organization that sets public standards for the quality of dietary supplements.
In order to receive the USP verification mark, manufacturers' facilities
undergo annual good manufacturing-practice audits, and their products are
tested for quality, potency and purity. Dr. LeBlanc and her colleagues included
one supplement from a USP Verified manufacturer in their sample. They found the
amount of vitamin D in pills from that bottle was generally more accurate than
the other bottles tested.
"The USP verification mark may give consumers some reassurance that
the amount of vitamin D in those pills is close to the amount listed on the
label," said Erin S. LeBlanc, MD, MPH, lead author and investigator with
the Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research in Portland, Oregon.
"There are not many manufacturers that have the USP mark, but it may be
worth the extra effort to look for it."
The researchers tested 55 bottles of over-the-counter vitamin D from 12
different manufacturers. The over-the-counter vitamin D pills used in the
analysis were purchased at five different stores in Portland, Oregon. The
compounded vitamin D was made by a compounding pharmacy in Portland. The
analysis was conducted by Eagle Analytical Services, an independent lab in
Houston.
USP Verified Dietary Supplements
Click
on the brand names below to see a list of USP Verified products and a list of
the retail stores where you can buy the products.
Note: I use Nature Made Multi For
Her 50+, a multivitamin that contains 1000 IU vitamin D3. There are also several
Nature Made vitamin D supplements: Vitamin
D—400 IU, Vitamin D3 1000 IU Softgels, Vitamin D3 2000 IU Softgels, and Vitamin
D3 5000 IU Softgels. This brand is carried at several brick-and-mortar stores.
I buy mine online at www.iherb.com. If you
use my code, KAP600, at checkout, you and I both get a discount.
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Wandering Skeleton
Artist: Joel Hoekstra
Osteoporotic Bone
Source: www.mayoclinic.com