Controversy about the use of bisphosphonates in patients with kidney disease

Abstract

Bisphosphonates are antiresorptive agents, thanks to their ability to alter the function of osteoclasts. They can even induce apoptosis of these cells. Other therapeutic benefits of these drugs are their anti-inflammatory action and their ability to inhibit the formation of atherosclerotic plaque. Classically, impaired renal function has been a contraindication to their use, but recent evidence has shown that proper dose adjustment, or selection of bisphosphonates with low toxicity and high fixation to serum protein and bone, as well as high clearance rates in dialysis therapy, could be an excellent therapeutic weapon in diseases that affect the kidneys and other organs, such as multiple myeloma, and in states of hyperphosphatemia associated with high bone turnover.