To print: Select File and then Print from your browser's menu --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Title: Vitamin K Does Not Reduce Bone Mineral Density Loss in Postmenopausal Women With Osteopaenia URL: http://www.pslgroup.com/dg/22ECCA.htm Doctor's Guide October 14, 2008
SAN FRANCISCO -- October 14, 2008 -- High-dose daily vitamin K1 supplement does not protect against age-related bone mineral density (BMD) decline, according to a study published in this week's PLoS Medicine. However, the findings also suggest that vitamin K1 may protect against fracture and cancer in postmenopausal women with osteopaenia. Angela Cheung, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario and colleagues conducted a randomised controlled trial to determine whether daily high-dose vitamin K1 supplementation safely reduces bone loss, bone turnover, and fractures. The Evaluate the Clinical Use of Vitamin K Supplementation in Postmenopausal Women With Osteopaenia (ECKO) trial included 440 postmenopausal women with osteopaenia. Patients were randomised to receive either 5 mg of vitamin K1 or a placebo daily for 2 years. Of the women, 261 continued their treatment for 2 additional years to gather information about the long-term effects of vitamin K1 supplementation. After 2 years and 4 years, lower back and hip measurements of bone mineral density (BMD) had decreased by similar amounts in both the vitamin K and the placebo groups. Over the 4-year period, fewer women in the vitamin K group had fractures compared with the placebo group (9 vs 20) and fewer women had cancer (3 vs 12). Vitamin K supplementation was well tolerated over the 4-year period and adverse health effects were similar in both groups. The authors emphasise that the study was not powered to examine fractures or cancers and the numbers were small, therefore the findings must be interpreted with caution. The researchers say that larger studies are needed to examine the effect of vitamin K1 on fractures and on cancer and, until these are done, high dose vitamin K1 supplementation should not be recommended for the prevention of osteoporosis. The full article can be accessed here: http://medicine.plosjournals.org/perlserv/?request=get-document&doi=10.1371/journal.pmed.0050196 SOURCE: Public Library of Science --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright © 1999 P\S\L Consulting Group Inc. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of P\S\L content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of P\S\L. P\S\L shall not be liable for any errors, omissions or delays in this content or any other content on its sites, newsletters or other publications, nor for any decisions or actions taken in reliance on such content. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This news story was printed from *Doctor's Guide to the Internet* located at http://www.docguide.com --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Return to News Story Page This site is maintained by webmaster@pslgroup.com Please contact us with any comments, problems or bugs. All contents Copyright (c) 1998 P\S\L Consulting Group Inc. All rights reserved.