Teriparatide therapy for bisphosphonate-associated osteonecrosis of the jaw in an elderly japanese woman with severe osteoporosis

We report on the case of a severely osteoporotic elderly Japanese woman with bisphosphonate-associated osteonecrosis of the jaw (ONJ), who was treated successfully with teriparatide. A 79-year-old woman with severe osteoporosis and bisphosphonate-associated ONJ was treated with teriparatide after debridement of the necrotic tissue in the jaw bone. Computed tomography (CT) images revealed the bone defect in the mandible after debridement of the necrotic tissue associated with ONJ. According to the attending dentist, the ONJ healed after 2 months of therapy. After 3 months of treatment, a robust increase in the serum level of the bone formation marker, serum intact procollagen type 1 N-terminal propeptide, was noted and a repeat CT revealed improvement of the bone defect of the mandible. These results suggest the beneficial effects of teriparatide therapy in the severely osteoporotic elderly woman with ONJ.