NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – Bone density remains normal in patients treated with low-dose methotrexate, Canadian researchers report.
Dr. Ann B. Cranney from Ottawa Hospital, and colleagues compared bone density in 30 rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients and 30 patients with psoriasis/psoriatic arthritis receiving methotrexate with 57 similar patients who were not taking methotrexate.
The mean weekly dose of methotrexate was 10.1 mg in patients with RA and 12.4 mg in patients with psoriasis/psoriatic arthritis, according to the report in the November issue of the Journal of Rheumatology.
The researchers measured bone mineral density at the radius, lumbar spine, trochanter, and the neck of the femur. There was no significant difference at any of the sites in patients taking methotrexate and controls. At the femoral neck the mean difference in bone mineral density was 0.04 g/cm² for patients with RA, and 0.06 for g/cm² for patients with psoriasis/psoriatic arthritis, the researchers found.
RA patients receiving methotrexate had a higher absolute bone mineral density at the lumbar spine than did controls (0.101 g/cm², p = 0.029), but this significant difference was not seen in patients with psoriasis/psoriatic arthritis.
Dr. Cranney's group concludes that "we did not find a negative effect on bone density in arthritis patients taking low dose methotrexate in comparison to those not taking methotrexate. However, we were not able to determine whether higher doses of cumulative methotrexate may have a negative effect on bone mineralization."
J Rheumatol 2001;28:2395-2399.
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