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Osteonecrosis studies

Osteonecrosis studies. Here are some abstract of recent studies on this topic.

Because this is such a controversial topic I have not edited these abstracts at all. I realize that for those not used to reading scientific articles, the abstracts may seem a bit dry and even a bit awkward. But most people who take the time can understand them. They are not difficult - just written is a dry, scientific style.

The abstract begin with the most recent publications.

Clinical Therapy August 29, 2007.
A review of the literature on Osteonecrosis of the jaw in patients with osteoporosis treated with oral bisphosphonates: prevalence, risk factors, and clinical characteristics.
By Pazianas M, Miller P, Blumentals WA, Bernal M, Kothawala P.of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.
OBJECTIVE: This literature review was performed to elucidate the relationship between bisphosphonate use and development of osteonecrosis of the jaw (ONJ) in patients receiving oral bisphosphonates for the treatment of osteoporosis.
METHODS: MEDLINE, the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, and EMBASE were searched for English-language articles published from 1966 to September 2006 whose titles included the term osteonecrosis of the jaw in conjunction with bisphosphonates, alendronate, risedronate, ibandronate, etidronate, clodronate, zoledronic acid, or pamidronate.
Articles were included in the review if the population consisted of adults with ONJ; patients received bisphosphonates for the treatment of osteoporosis only; the reported data included baseline characteristics of the study population (age; sex; comorbidities; concomitant medications; history of dental surgery, trauma, or infection), characteristics of bisphosphonate treatment (specific bisphosphonate, dose, duration of treatment, mode of administration), clinical features of ONJ (signs, symptoms, site), the treatment protocol used to manage ONJ, or the prevalence of ONJ in patients with osteoporosis treated with bisphosphonates; and the publication involved a case report, case series, or observational study.
RESULTS: After application of the search strategy and the inclusion/exclusion criteria, 11 publications reporting 26 cases of ONJ in patients receiving bisphosphonates for the treatment of osteoporosis were included in the review.
The most commonly affected site was the mandible (16 patients), followed by the maxilla (6 patients). Among the 23 patients whose age was reported, 18 (78%) were aged >or=60 years. Among the 23 patients whose sex was reported, only 3 (13%) were men. Of 15 patients with a history of invasive dental treatment, 12 (80%) had undergone dental surgery or experienced dental trauma at the site of ONJ.
Among the 10 patients for whom the duration of bisphosphonate treatment was reported, no clear relationship between the duration of bisphosphonate treatment and the development of ONJ was observed. CONCLUSIONS: Considering that millions of patients have been prescribed bisphosphonates for the treatment of osteoporosis, the relative prevalence of ONJ in these patients was low. Age >or=60 years, female sex, and previous invasive dental treatment were the most common characteristics of those who developed ONJ.
However, it is not possible to draw further conclusions about the potential association between oral bisphosphonate use and ONJ in the identified studies because of incomplete reporting and the presence of confounding factors.

Laryngoscope. January 2006.
Osteonecrosis of the mandible or maxilla associated with the use of new generation bisphosphonates. by Farrugia MC, Summerlin DJ, Krowiak E,, Huntley T, Freeman S, Borrowdale R, Tomich C. of the Department of Otolaryngology, Botsford General Hospital, Farmington Hills, Michigan. USA.
OBJECTIVE: "The use of bisphosphonates is well established for the treatment of patients with metastatic bone disease, osteoporosis, and Paget's disease. Osteonecrosis of the mandible or maxilla associated with the use of bisphosphonates is a newly described entity never before discussed in the otolaryngology literature. In this paper, we review a series of patients diagnosed with osteonecrosis, all treated with new generation bisphosphonates. Our objective is to inform and educate others, particularly otolaryngologists/head and neck surgeons, about this drug induced entity, a condition that should be recognized early to avoid potential devastating consequences."
STUDY DESIGN: "Retrospective chart review of a series of patients from a tertiary referral center."
METHODS: "Pathology reports of specimens submitted from either the mandible or maxilla were reviewed from the previous 12 months. Any patient diagnosed with osteonecrosis without evidence of metastatic disease at that site was included; those with a previous history of radiation therapy were excluded. Each patient's medical history and profile were reviewed. RESULTS: Twenty-three patients were identified with osteonecrosis of the mandible or maxilla. All of these were associated with the use of new generation bisphosphonates: zolendronate (Zometa, Novartis), pamidronate (Aredia, Novartis), and alendronate (Fosamax, Merck). Eighteen patients with known bone metastases had been treated with the intravenous form, whereas five patients with either osteoporosis or Paget's disease were using oral therapy. Patients typically presented with a nonhealing lesion, often times the result of previous dental intervention. Although the majority of these patients were treated with conservative surgical debridement, we present a case requiring a near total maxillectomy. CONCLUSIONS: Drug induced osteonecrosis of the mandible or maxilla has been recently recognized as a sequelae of treatment with the new generation of bisphosphonates. Most patients can be treated with conservative surgical debridement and cessation of bisphosphonate therapy, whereas a few may require radical surgical intervention. Other recommendations include regimented prophylactic care with an assessment of dental status before the administration of bisphosphonates, avoidance of dental procedures, and close monitoring of oral hygiene."

Aust Dent J. December 2005. The dental implications of bisphosphonates and bone disease. byCheng A, Mavrokokki A, Carter G, Stein B, Fazzalari NL, Wilson DF, Goss AN. of the Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Unit, Faculty of Health Sciences, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, Australia.
"In 2002/2003 a number of patients presented to the South Australian Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Unit with unusual non-healing extraction wounds of the jaws. All were middle-aged to elderly, medically compromised and on bisphosphonates for bone pathology. Review of the literature showed similar cases being reported in the North American oral and maxillofacial surgery literature. This paper reviews the role of bisphosphonates in the management of bone disease.
There were 2.3 million prescriptions for bisphosphonates in Australia in 2003. This group of drugs is very useful in controlling bone pain and preventing pathologic fractures. However, in a small number of patients on bisphosphonates, intractable, painful, non-healing exposed bone occurs following dental extractions or denture irritation. Affected patients are usually, but not always, over 55 years, medically compromised and on the potent nitrogen containing bisphosphonates pamidronate (Aredia/Pamisol), alendronate (Fosamax) and zolendronate (Zometa) for non-osteoporotic bone disease. Currently, there is no simple, effective treatment and the painful exposed bone may persist for years. The main complications are marked weight loss from difficulty in eating and severe jaw and neck infections. Possible preventive and therapeutic strategies are presented although at this time there is no evidence of their effectiveness. Dentists must ask about bisphosphonate usage for bone disease when recording medical histories and take appropriate actions to avoid the development of this debilitating condition in their patients".. "

Mund Kiefer Gesichtschir. July 2005. Osteonecrosis of the jaws as a possible adverse effect of the use of bisphosphonates by Hoefert S, Eufinger H. of Klinik fur Mund-, Kiefer- und Gesichtschirurgie, Plastische Operationen, Knappschaftskrankenhaus Recklinghausen, Akademisches Lehrkrankenhaus der Ruhr-Universitat Bochum. Germany.
BACKGROUND: "Bisphosphonates are widely used in the treatment of cancer patients with hypercalcemia and bone metastases or in osteoporosis therapy. Current reports have focused on therapy-resistant osteonecrosis of the jaws as a possible side effect of bisphosphonates. Official German drug committees have recently warned about the possibility of these side effects in the publication organs Deutsches Arzteblatt and Deutsche Apotheker Zeitung.
CASE REPORTS: So far we have had experience with seven patients showing therapy-resistant osteonecrosis of the mandible under bisphosphonate medication. The presentation of these cases is intended to call attention to this clinically important side effect. ".

Source: all abstract are taken taken from the Osteonecrosis results of the Pub Med web site.

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Page revised: December 2008