Different effects of antiresorptive therapies on vertebral and nonvertebral fractures in postmenopausal osteoporosis.

In postmenopausal osteoporosis, controlled clinical trials with antiresorptive therapies have shown consistent effects on vertebral fracture incidence while their effects on nonvertebral fractures, especially at the hip, have been reported with some agents, but not others. These discrepancies stress the differences in the pathogenesis of vertebral and nonvertebral fractures as discussed below, and the need to further investigate the mechanisms of action of various antiresorptive agents.