Five-year follow-up study of a kidney-tonifying herbal Fufang for prevention of postmenopausal osteoporosis and fragility fractures

Abstract

To observe the kidney-tonifying herbal Fufangs with phytoestrogenic epimedium for prevention of postmenopausal osteoporosis with both bone mineral density (BMD) and fracture as study endpoints, a 5-year multicenter follow-up study in 194 postmenopausal women (47-70years old) was conducted in which the subjects were given oral administration of herbal Fufang (10g/day, twice per day, n=101) or placebo (n=93). Both groups were supplemented daily with calcium (600mg) and vitamin D (400IU). BMD at distal radius, potential adverse events, and fracture incidence were evaluated at baseline and at 6, 12, 24, 36, 48, and 60months. At the end of 5 years, 155 subjects had completed the study, with better adherence in the treatment group (13% dropouts, n=88 at year5) as compared with the control group (28% dropouts, n=67 at year5) (P<0.05). No notable adverse events were observed in either group. In the treatment group BMD increased significantly from baseline (0.211±0.022g/cm(2)) to the end of the study (0.284±0.015g/cm(2)), whereas the control group decreased significantly from baseline (0.212±0.023g/cm(2)) to 5years later (0.187±0.022g/cm(2)) (P<0.05). The fracture incidence was 2.4 fold lower in the treatment group than in the control group, with a relative risk of 0.57 for the treatment group (95% CI, 0.43-0.70, P<0.05). In conclusion, in addition to the beneficial effects of oral herbal Fufang on prevention of postmenopausal bone loss, this 5-year multi-center clinical study demonstrated for the first time its potential for reduction in fragility fracture incidence.