Strontium ranelate: long-term efficacy against vertebral, nonvertebral and hip fractures in patients with postmenopausal osteoporosis

Osteoporosis treatments need to combine an unequivocally demonstrated reduction of fractures, at various skeletal sites, long-term safety, and a user-friendly profile, optimizing therapeutic adherence. Strontium ranelate is the first compound to simultaneously decrease bone resorption and stimulate bone formation. Its antifracture efficacy, at various skeletal sites, has been established up to 8 years, through studies of the highest methodological standards. Increases in bone mineral density, observed after 1 year of treatment, are predictive of the long-term fracture efficacy, hence suggesting, for the first time in osteoporosis, that bone densitometry can be used as a monitoring tool for both efficacy and compliance. Owing to a positive benefit/risk ratio, strontium ranelate may now be considered as a first-line treatment in the management of osteoporosis.