Pamidronate not for long-term treatment of OI

Researchers at Shriners Hospital for Children and McGill University in Montreal, Canada, investigated the bone tissue effects of pamidronate therapy for an average of 5.5 years in 25 children and adolescents with osteogenesis imperfecta, an inherited bone disorder. During the first half of the observation period, bone mass and density increased in the study subjects, but measures of bone formation decreased. In the second half of the observation period, the increase in bone mass slowed and there was a trend toward further decreases in bone formation. The research suggests that pamidronate therapy is beneficial in just the first few years of treatment. The research was published in the February 2006 issue of Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.