Diabetic Neuropathic Arthropathy clinical trials

Efficacy of Teriparatide in Diabetic Inactive Charcot Neuroarthropathy of Foot

Diabetic foot represents a major medical , social and economic problem worldwide. Charcot's neuroarthropathy, being a common cause of diabetic foot, has been an intriguing topic of research for endocrinologists, podiatrists and surgeons. After its first description by JEAN-MARTIN CHARCOT in 1868, many theories have been put forward regarding its pathophysiology , but not much research has been done for its prevention and treatment , specially the inactive stage. The course of Charcot 's neuroarthropathy is triphasic , with the diagnosis being usually missed in the active stage, henceforth the patients often come to us with a deformed foot. As a consequence , the osteoclastic activity in active stage renders the foot bones demineralized and weak, thus being susceptible to fracture and fragmentation. Teriparatide is recombinant human (1-34) parathyroid molecule that has been approved for post-menopausal osteoporosis and in men with primary or secondary osteoporosis. It acts by preferentially stimulating osteoblast over osteoclast activity resulting in new bone formation and an increase in the rate of bone remodeling which manifest as an increase in skeletal mass and bone mineral density . Keeping the pathophysiology of Charcot's foot in mind, teriparatide may be used as potential treatment for inactive Charcot's neuroarthropathy but there are no studies or randomized trials in this setting, till date. We hypothesize that teriparatide may increase the remodeling of foot bones in Charcot's neuroarthropathy, improve bone mineral density, subsequently leading to a reduction in the risk of fractures and progression of deformities. This study plans to compare the effects of teriparatide in diabetes patients with inactive Charcot's foot in a placebo controlled design.