Research progress of bisphosphonates in the treatment of osteoarthritis

Abstract

Osteoarthritis is clinical common disease,radiography shows articular cartilage damaging, joint space narrowing, sclerosis of subchondral bone. The main pathological changes includes cartilage degeneration, joint edge and subchondral bone hyperplasia of reactivity. Osteoarthritis tends to slow development, generally treated by conservative management. However there is no cure about conservative treatment. The conservative treatment of osteoarthritis mainly includes physical healing, anti-inflammatory analgesic therapy, cartilage protective treatment. Recently, there are a few new ideas about the pathogenesis of OA, mainly considered OA occurred not only with the cartilage degenerative lesion caused the subchondral bone changes, but also subchondral bone metabolic abnormalities leading to cartilage injury biomechanics structural abnormalities (cartilage attached). In addition,studies have found that the subchondral bone changed osteoclasts in patients with OA, therefore bisphosphonates were used in the treatment of OA. Bishosphonates is a effective inhibitors of bone resorption, inhibiting osteoclast activity and subchondral bone bone metabolic abnormalities, delay cartilage degeneration of articular cartilage; In addition bishosphonates can inhibit articular cartilage bone mass loss, maintain the subchondral bone microstructure and joint function, reduce joint pain. Bishosphonates show positive results in the animal OA model, accompanied with clinical practice.In this paper, we discuss bishosphonates for the treatment of knee osteoarthritis and improvement of clinical symptoms.