Vitamin K as Additive Treatment in Osteoporosis

Vitamin K is thought to be important for bone health because it activates several proteins involved in bone formation. Poor dietary intake of vitamin K (mainly found in dark green leafy vegetables) is associated with bone loss and fractures. Giving supplements of the main dietary form of vitamin K (called K1) or another common form which our bodies make from K1(called MK4), to improve bone health have given mixed results. This confusion is thought to have arisen because these studies involved people who already had enough vitamin K or did not have osteoporosis. We want to test the hypothesis that treatment with bisphosphonates combined with vitamin K, in vitamin K deplete elderly women with osteoporosis, may offer additional benefit on skeletal metabolism and reduction of fracture risk. We want to test this by measuring vitamin K status in post-menopausal women with osteoporosis who are on the recommended treatment with a bisphosphonate and calcium/vitamin D supplements. Those with low vitamin K will then be recruited to study the effect of supplementation with either K1 or MK4.