Abnormal bone remodelling in inflammatory arthritis.

Osteopenia is responsible for substantial comorbidity in patients suffering from rheumatoid arthritis and is an important factor in the surgical management of joint disease. In animal models of bone loss stimulated by inflammatory arthritis, increased bone remodelling and altered microstructure of bone have been documented. The subchondral bone plate near the joint surface is narrow and perforated by vascular inflammatory invasion, and in the shaft the thin cortices are weakened by giant resorption defects. Biomechanical tests and a mathematical model of bone strength suggest that cortical defects, much larger than those found in normal osteonal remodelling, are principally responsible for the experimentally observed loss of strength. Similarly, these defects may explain the increased femoral fracture risk in rheumatoid arthritis. The osteoclast, the cell resorbing bone, is demonstrated in increased number and activity in rheumatoid arthritis and in animal models. Bisphosphonates, drugs that inhibit osteoclast function, have been shown experimentally to reduce both focal and generalized osteopenia and to prevent loss of bone strength. Bisphosphonates also protect articular cartilage from damage characteristic of inflammatory arthritis. The mechanism of chondroprotection may be prevention of subchondral bone resorption by the osteoclast and also an altered distribution of bone marrow cells. Thus, bisphosphonates, currently in clinical use for other bone metabolic diseases, appear to have potential as prophylaxis and treatment for osteopenia and joint damage in inflammatory arthritis.