Vitamin K Administration to Elderly Patients with Osteoporosis Induces No Hemostatic Activation, Even in Those with Suspected Vitamin K Deficiency

Abstract

The administration of menaquinone-4 (MK-4), one of subclasses of vitamin K2, significantly reduces bone loss in postmenopausal osteoporotic women. However, concerns have been raised about whether vitamin K administration alters the hemostatic balance by inducing a thrombotic tendency. We investigated were whether the administration of vitamin K in the form of MK-4 induced a thrombotic tendency in 29 elderly patients with osteoporosis (5 men, 24 women; age range 78.7+/-5.1 years). Patients were administered 45 mg/day (three times a day, 30 min after each meal) of MK-4 for 12 weeks. Blood samples were obtained from the patients at 0, 4 and 12 weeks after the start of MK-4 administration. A number of hemostatic parameters remained stable under the markedly increased plasma levels of MK-4. However, in patients with suspected vitamin K deficiency, whose plasma levels of vitamin K or factor VII were low, vitamin-K-dependent clotting factors such as factor VII and prothrombin were gradually increased after administration of MK-4. No changes in the sensitive molecular markers such as TAT and F1+2, which reflect the amount of thrombin generated in the blood stream, were observed, even in those patients with suspected vitamin K deficiency. These results indicate that MK-4 can be administered safely, with regard to maintaining the hemostatic balance, to osteoporotic patients receiving no anticoagulant therapy.

Vitamins K1 and K2: The Emerging Group of Vitamins Required for Human Health

“…GLa containing bone proteins are synthesized by osteoblasts and have been identified as osteocalcin, matrix GLa protein, and pit protein S. Carboxylated osteocalcin (OC) increases after vitamin K2 administration and there is a connection between uncarboxylated OC and the risk of clinical fractures [2]. Vitamin K2 (MK-4) supplementation is quite safe and does not induce hypercoagulation even at doses of 15 mg three times a day [3]. …”

Redox-active and Redox-silent Compounds: Synergistic Therapeutics in Cancer

“…It must be noted that the administration of high doses of menadione (4 and 8 g/m 2 ) was associated with hemolysis, despite the presence of red blood cell glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase. Interestingly, no resulting coagulopathy was recorded, a fact already observed in clinical trials conducted with vitamin K1 [125].…”

“…VK3 concentrations peaked at 1.9-7.4 M in patients receiving 1.36 g/m 2 of the drug. The patients tolerated VK3 well, but no objective partial or complete responses were observed [125]. Similarly, no effects of VK3 treatment were found in advanced gastrointestinal cancer [124].…”

Menatetrenone rescues bone loss by improving osteoblast dysfunction in rats immobilized by sciatic neurectomy

“…Vitamin K supplementation or MK-4 administration has also been shown to reduce serum uc-OC level (Binkley et al, 2000, Asakura et al, 2001, Miki et al, 2003. Hence, we measured the serum concentration of uc-OC and carboxylated osteocalcin (Gla-OC).…”