Teriparatide Therapy Reduces Serum Phosphate and Intima-Media Thickness at the Carotid Wall Artery in Patients with Osteoporosis

Although cross-sectional and longitudinal studies report a relationship between osteoporosis and cardiovascular disorders (known as the bone-cardiovascular axis), the benefits of osteoporosis treatment on atherosclerosis are largely unclear. Teriparatide is a bone-forming agent that increases urinary phosphate excretion. Because elevated serum phosphate is associated with the development of atherosclerosis, the purpose of our study was to examine the relationship among lumbar spine bone mineral density (LS-BMD), intima-media thickness at the carotid artery (CA-IMT), and phosphate metabolism in response to daily teriparatide therapy. Osteoporotic patients (n = 28) with low LS-BMD (T-score < −2.5) and/or at least one vertebral fracture were treated with teriparatide (20 μg/day) for 12 months. Metabolic bone markers, LS-BMD, and CA-IMT were measured over the course of treatment. The LS-BMD significantly increased by 0.046 ± 0.038 g/cm2 over the 12-month period (P < 0.001). CA-IMT decreased from 0.701 mm (interquartile range: 0.655–0.774 mm) at baseline to 0.525 mm (0.477–0.670 mm) at 12 months (P < 0.05); however, CA-IMT change was not significantly associated with LS-BMD change. Serum phosphate decreased after 1 month of teriparatide administration, and the change in serum phosphate at 1 months was associated with the change in CA-IMT at 12 months (ρ = 0.431, P = 0.025). Teriparatide improved LS-BMD and CA-IMT, suggesting the existence of the bone–cardiovascular axis. The association between serum phosphate and CA-IMT suggests that the teriparatide decreased CA-IMT in part by reducing serum phosphate, a well-known vascular toxin, in addition to the improvement of bone–cardiovascular axis.