The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism Vol. 90, No. 9 5508
Copyright © 2005 by The Endocrine Society
Letter re: Alendronate in Anorexia Nervosa
Susan M. Ott
Department of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195-6426
Address correspondence to: Susan M. Ott, University of Washington, Division of Metabolism, Box 356426, Health Science Building, Room BB545, 1959 NE Pacific Street, Seattle, Washington 98195-6426.
To the editor:
The recently published manuscript by Golden et al. (1) was a very interesting study of young women who had anorexia, in whom weight restoration was the most important determinant of bone density. The authors stated that to their knowledge there were no reports of adverse effects of bisphosphonates on the fetuses of humans or animals. There have, however, been several reports of adverse effects in animal models (2, 3, 4), which is why these drugs are U.S. Food and Drug Administration category C or D. The bisphosphonates cross the placenta (5, 6). In a review of the literature, I could find only seven cases of infants born to mothers who took bisphosphonates during or immediately before pregnancy (7, 8, 9, 10, 11), and there were no major skeletal defects of bone modeling, but one had transient hypocalcemia, one was in the 10th percentile for weight, and one had bilateral talipes equinovarus. Because these medicines have a long half-life, bisphosphonates should not be used in young women who might become pregnant unless they have substantial fracture risks.
Received June 16, 2005.
References
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- Rutgers-Verhage AR, deVries TW, Torringa MJ 2003 No effects of bisphosphonates on the human fetus. Birth Defects Res A Clin Mol Teratol 67:203–204[Medline]
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