Drugs & Medical Devices
Fosamax
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New Bisphosphonate Study Confirms Risk of Femur Fracture
A recent, 2011, Swedish study confirms risk of atypical femur fracture in patients who take bisphosphonates. Although the researches (Jörg Schilcher, M.D., Karl Michaëlsson, M.D., Ph.D., and Per Aspenberg, M.D., Ph.D.) state that the risk is minimal, it is still present.
The femur is one of the strongest bones in the human body, and fracturing the femur bone (especially for women over the age of 60) is such a severe injury that in some instances it can be fatal. In addition, the patients who receive one femur fracture from a bisphosphonate (such as Fosamax) tend to have additional femur fractures. One women’s doctor informed her after her femur fracture that the average woman as a one in 10,000 chance of sustaining a bone fracture of her kind – now, he said, she has a one in three chance of sustaining another one.
The method of the study
The study involved 12,777 women aged 55 or older who sustained a femur fracture in 2008. Information was gathered on these women including medical background and medication through the national registries, and the patients were compared to a control group who had ordinary femur fractures.
The results
The absolute risk boiled down to 5 cases per 10,000 patient-years, and the women who stopped taking bisphosphonate drugs had 70% less risk with each year they did not take the drugs. The conclusion is that the risk of sustaining an atypical femur fracture while taking a bisphosphonate drug is present, but small.
The risk
While this study proves that the absolute risk is small, for the unlucky few, life can become very unpleasant. Having an increased likelihood to breaking your femur bone can ruin careers and have severe effects on work and responsibilities. It can also instill an ever-present fear of doing anything that may cause a femur fracture. Many women that sustained these kinds of “atypical” femur fractures after taking bisphosphonates for a number of years broke their femurs during low-energy exercises.
Should you sustain a femur fracture after taking a bisphosphonate drug, contact Weitz & Luxenberg for legal advice. A bisphosphonate fracture can be potentially life-changing, and we can help you pursue the compensation that can help you get back on your feet.
Weitz & Luxenberg is a major personal injury law firm with over two decades of experience in defective medicine and medical devices. Contact us today for a free, legal consultation by phone at (800) 476-6070, or visit our website at www.weitzlux.com.
Sources
Jörg Schilcher, M.D., Karl Michaëlsson, M.D., Ph.D., Per Aspenberg, M.D., Ph.D., Bisphosphonate Use and Atypical Fractures of the Femoral Shaft, N Engl J Med 2011; 364:1728-1737 May 5, 2011
http://www.lawyersandsettlements.com/articles/fosamax/interview-fosamax-side-effects-6-14912.html
see also:
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