Quarterly ibandronate benefits bone

Bone mineral density (BMD) improves through up to 2 years of treatment with IV ibandronate, according to a post hoc analysis presented at the 17th annual meeting of the North American Menopause Society in Nashville, Tenn.

The data were reported by investigators from the DIVA (Dosing IntraVenous Administration) study, phase III comparison of daily oral (2.5 mg) or quarterly IV (3 mg) ibandronate. Nearly 1,400 women aged 55 to 80 who were postmenopausal for at least 5 years were enrolled in the double-blind, double-dummy trial. The post hoc analysis looked only at BMD in women on IV treatment for 1 to 2 years.

BMD at various sites increased from year 1 to year 2, with measurements at the lumbar spine (LS) up nearly 5% and 5.75%, respectively, up 2.21% and 2.44%, respectively, at the femoral neck, up 2.22% and 2.76%, respectively, for total hip, and up 3.6% and 4.48%, respectively, for the trochanter.