Decrease in carotid intima-media thickness after 1-year therapy with etidronate for osteopenia associated with type 2 diabetes

It has been suggested that bisphosphonates may have some antiatherogenic actions in experimental animals or in vitro, but their effects on the atherogenic process in humans has not been reported. In the present study the effect of etidronate treatment on carotid arterial intima-media thickness was prospectively examined in 57 subjects with type 2 diabetes associated with osteopenia. After 1 yr of therapy with cyclical etidronate (200 mg/day for 2 weeks every 3 months), intima-media thickness showed a decrease (mean +/- SE, -0.038 +/- 0.011 mm), which was significantly different from a change in 57 control subjects (0.023 +/- 0.015 mm; P < 0.005). Cardiovascular parameters were not changed after etidronate treatment. These findings suggest that etidronate in clinical dosage may have an antiatherogenic action, at least in type 2 diabetes, although its mechanisms remain to be elucidated.