Health
Osteoporosis drug cuts fracture risk
NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted April 12, 2004
Alendronate, a widely prescribed drug for treating osteoporosis, was found to be safe and to effectively reduce fracture risk among a group of postmenopausal women who took it continuously for 10 years, according to a study published in the March 18 New England Journal of Medicine.
Alendronate, marketed as Fosamax, was the first orally active bisphosphonate introduced in the United States for the treatment of osteoporosis. It is marketed by Merck, which also funded the study.
Henry G. Bone, MD, director of the Michigan Bone and Mineral Clinic, and colleagues began the study in 1991 as a three-year examination of 994 postmenopausal women ages 44 to 84. They continued to track 247 participants for the additional years, dividing them into groups that took 5 mg, 10 mg or 20 mg of Fosamax daily. The 20 mg group was changed to 5 mg for three years and then to a placebo for five years.
The women also received 500 mg of calcium daily and were permitted, but not required, to take vitamin D supplements.
Osteoporosis takes an enormous toll among postmenopausal women, said Gordon J. Strewler, MD, an internist at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, in an accompanying article. One woman in three and one man in nine older than age 80 will sustain a hip fracture at some point, and 15% to 20% of these patients will die from complications, he wrote.
Note: This item originally appeared at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2004/04/12/hlbf0412.htm.