Nitroglycerin May Increase Bone Density Feb. 22, 2011 -- Women at risk of fractures who used the heart medicine nitroglycerin boosted their bone density modestly, according to a new study.

''We found nitroglycerin has a unique ability," says researcher Sophie Jamal, MD, PhD, associate professor of medicine at the University of Toronto. "What it does is both increase bone formation and decrease bone breakdown."

No osteoporosis drug does both to her knowledge, Jamal tells WebMD.

Her study, reported in the Journal of the American Medical Association, did not assess fracture risk with nitroglycerin use, only the effects on bone. She plans to look next at whether taking nitroglycerin for bones will reduce fractures.

While several medicines are on the market to treat osteoporosis, the brittle bone disease that can lead to fractures, Jamal says many are expensive and not all drugs are available worldwide. In the U.S., up to one of every two women and one of four men over age 50 is expected to have an osteoporosis-related fracture at some point, according to the National Institutes of Health.

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