Strontium Ranelate Does Not Influence the Healing of Femoral Mid-shaft Defects in Rats

I’ve never been an advocate for strontium ranelate, as a matter of fact I’ve always been very critical as I thought of strontium ranelate as being a drug that does what sodium fluoride does. 

Now I’ve found a study on rats that support my viewpoint. I must admit that I’m not too fond of animal studies, but maybe there’s no other way. “The animals were euthanized after either 3 or 8 weeks of treatment.” Rats! What the authors mean is that the rats were killed. Maybe I overact with this kind of euphemism in the light of Germany’s history.

But let’s move from OT to the real topic. J.B. Vegger and colleagues published the following study: “Systemic Treatment with Strontium Ranelate Does Not Influence the Healing of Femoral Mid-shaft Defects in Rats.” They looked at the healing of cortical bone defects in rats and the effect of short-term treatment with strontium ranelate on intact trabecular bone (vertebral bodies). They’ve found an increased thickness of the defects after 3 weeks of treatment, “whereas no effect on bone volume fraction (BV/TV), mechanical properties (maximum strength and maximum stiffness), periosteal callus volume, or osteoclast-covered bone surfaces (Oc.S/BS [osteoclast-covered bone surfaces]) after either 3 or 8 weeks of treatment was found”. Strontium ranelate increased the bone material density of the vertebral bodies, but there hasn’t been any influence on the mechanical properties of the vertebral bodies. “In conclusion, 3 weeks of treatment with SrR (strontium ranelate) increased the thickness of the healing mid-femoral cortical bone defects in rats, but did not influence BV/TV (bone volume fraction), mechanical properties, periosteal callus volume, or Oc.S/BS after either 3 or 8 weeks. Furthermore, SrR had no effect on the microstructure and mechanical properties of the vertebral bodies.”

To sum it up, according to this study strontium ranelate increases bone mass, but does not increase the quality of the bones. In osteodensitometry you will get favorable results (more calcium), but as the bone quality (bone architecture) isn’t affected, the bone is as weak as before. I conclude from this study, that strontium ranelate makes the bone heavier but not stronger.

Links:

Oral strontium ranelate for the treatment of knee osteoarthritis? http://rheumatologe.blogspot.de/2012/03/oral-strontium-ranelate-for-treatment.html

Strontiumranelat (in German) - http://rheumatologe.blogspot.de/2014/02/strontiumranelat.html

Systemic Treatment with Strontium Ranelate Does Not Influence the Healing of Femoral Mid-shaft Defects in Rats https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26543033

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Autumn as Moon Awaits the Frost

Wind shakes the leaves

The city is humming its night song

The porcupine hunts

Dark trunks of the trees

The fallen leaves are glowing

Cries from soccer field

The car traffic eased

Dark trees against a clouded sky

Sounds of the railway

Night improves darkness

The city’s front of windows

Looses light by light

Darkness prevailing

Dim star light on the meadow

Birds in the forest

Now hurry up moon

Shower silver in your wake

Brighten our dark mood

The frost is biting

Ice lies white on the pond now

And moon shines paler

Partnerschaftsvermittlung an der Bushaltestelle

Vor einigen Tagen fiel mir wieder einmal die Werbung für Partnerschaftsvermittlung an der Bushaltestelle auf. Es geht mir nicht um Parship, sondern um Partnerschafts-vermittlung im Internet im Allgemeinen; OT: ich muss mich immer anstrengen nicht parsnip zu lesen.

Wenn ich mir nun die Dame anschaue, mit der für die Partnerschaftsvermittlung geworben wird, dann frage ich mich: Ist dies eine Frau, von der ich erwarten würde, dass sie eine Partnerschaftsvermittlung in Anspruch nimmt? Nein. Allerdings kann das auch ein in mir begründetes Vorurteil sein. Aber nehmen wird einmal an, ich hätte recht und sie wäre nicht eine typische Frau für eine Partner-schaftsvermittlung, dann müsste man sich fragen: Was stimmt nicht mit ihr.

Ist es nicht verrückt, dass wir selbst wählen wollen und nicht andere Instanzen für uns wählen lassen wollen, und dann lassen wir ein Computerprogramm eine Begegnung für uns anbahnen? In anderen Kulturen wählen z.B. die Eltern die Ehepartner und wir sind schnell dabei, das Ergebnis Zwangsehe zu nennen. Wen das Thema interessiert, dem kann ich den Artikel von Siri Pahnke empfehlen.

Prinzipiell halte ich Partnerschaftsbörsen für überflüssig. Noch überflüssiger sind dann die, die es für umsonst machen (siehe Link). Übrigens hat die Stiftung Warentest Partnerschaftsbörsen getestet (siehe Artikel). Parship war unter den Testsiegern. Trotzdem halte ich die Partnerschaftsvermittlungen für entbehrlich.

Links:

Siri Pahnke - ­ http://www.d-a-s-h.org/dossier/13/03_arrangement.html

Partnervermittlung kostenlos - http://www.singleboersen-blog.com/warum-eine-partnervermittlung-kostenlos-unsinn-ist/

Stiftung Warentest - http://www.tagesspiegel.de/themen/partnersuche/partnerboersen-im-test-dating-seiten-im-ueberblick/9304258.html

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Baricitinib reaching out for the market

It seems that baricitinib gets ready to come to the market. The annual meetings this year have seen a plethora of studies on baricitinib both at the EULAR meeting in London and the ACR meeting in Washington.

Noteworthy: both meetings received different studies or better different aspects of studies. With other compounds abstracts didn’t differ at both congresses. Not so with baricitinib.

Interestingly the crucial study on radiographic progression only appeared at the EULAR meeting. The FDA approved tofacitinib, but EMEA didn’t a couple of years ago. I think this had an impact on baricitinib. If it had an impact on FDA, let’s wait to see if baricitinib is approved or not. Tofacitinb has applied for approval in Europe (March 2016), so Xeljanz should have an advantage of time.

The study by D. van der Heijde and colleagues showed a robust inhibition of radiographic progression for the 4 mg dose of baricitinib.

N.V. Zamora and colleagues came to the following conclusions: 1. baricitinib with or without MTX had better responses as compared to MTX at 12 and 24 weeks (baricitinib+MTX lower withdrawal rate than MTX alone), 2. baricitinib showed similar effects as adalimumab (with higher rates of SAEs). The authors consider baricitinib to be an additional therapeutic option to treat patients with moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis, who have an inadequate response to other treatment agents.

There will be a study in a few days by Kevin L. Winthrop and colleagues at the ACR Annual Meeting in Washington: “Herpes Zoster in Patients with moderate to Severe Rheumatoid Arthritis Treated with Baricitinib” [Abstract Number: 3027] – which will have to be discussed at the meeting first.

What can we say today? Lilly is committed to bring baricitinib to the market. Let’s see how quickly. I expect approval or non-approval within half a year both for the US and the EU.

Links:

Radiographic progression – EULAR [THU0168] D. van der Heijde , M. Dougados , Y.-C. Chen, M. Greenwald , E. Drescher , R. Klar , L. Xie , I. de la Torre , T.P. Rooney , S. Witt , D. Schlichting , S. DeBono, P. Emery: Baricitinib Inhibits Radiographic Progression of Structural Joint Damage at 1 Year in Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis (Ra) and an Inadequate Response to csDMARDS. DOI: 10.1136/annrheumdis-2016-eular.1611

Meta-Analysis - EULAR [SAT0177] N.V. Zamora , J. Tayar , M.A. Lopez-Olivo , R. Christensen , M.E. Suarez-Almazor: Baricitinib for  Rheumatoid Arthritis: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. DOI: 10.1136/annrheumdis-2016-eular.4449