Therapeutic Effects of Alendronate on Bone Erosion and Atrophy in a Patient with Rheumatoid Arthritis and Hepatitis C Virus Infection

Excerpt

To the Editor:

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic systemic inflammatory disease associated with progressive disability and serious comorbidities¹. Disease modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARD) are now widely used in patients with RA, and treatment of RA with DMARD can prevent joint destruction². Bisphosphonates are potent inhibitors of bone resorption and are widely used for osteoporosis and corticosteroid-induced osteoporosis³ in patients with RA. A recent study showed that bisphosphonates affected inflammation as well as resorption in a rat model of arthritis⁴. This background led us to administer alendronate to a patient with RA.

We describe a 38-year-old Japanese man with a ...