Alendronate for Prevention of AntiRetroviral Therapy-associated Bone Loss

Antiretroviral therapy (ART) initiation is associated with a significant loss of bone mineral density (BMD), characterised by increases in bone turnover, which is largely limited to the first 48 weeks of therapy. Bisphosphonates, such as alendronate, decrease bone turnover and can limit loss of bone mineral density. This study aims to determine if a short course of treatment with the oral bisphosphonate alendronate can limit loss of bone mineral density associated with initiation of ART in HIV-1 infected, antiretroviral naive, adult subjects.