Drugs & Medical Devices
Fosamax
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2010 press release confirms link between Fosamax and brittle bones
“Although bisphosphonates have demonstrated an improvement in bone quantity, little if anything is known about the effects of these drugs on bone quality,” said Brian Gladnick, representing a team of investigators at Hospital for Special Surgery. This quote was taken from the March, 2010, press release Quantity vs. Quality: Long-Term Use of Bone-Building Osteoporosis Drugs May Affect Quality and Structural Integrity of Bone, from the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS). The press release talks in depth about the research looking into why so many people are developing brittle bones and femur fractures after long-term use of the drug Fosamax.
Fosamax is a bisphosphonate drug, which means it attempts to slow down your body’s natural process of removing dead bone cells. The body is constantly removing dead bone cells from your bones and replacing them with newborn, healthy bone cells. The problem is that as people get older (or develop certain bone conditions like Paget’s disease) they can no longer replace the dead bone cells with new ones as quickly. So, when one bone cell dies, it is absorbed and then there is a delay where the body has to make a new bone cell and put it in the old one’s place. This lag decreases the integrity of our bones severely and can cause injuries such as fractures. Bisphosphonate drugs were developed to delay the process of removing the dead bone cell. In theory, by leaving the dead bone cells on your bones longer, your bones should have greater integrity.
Melvin Rosenwasser, MD, is an orthopaedic surgeon at Columbia’s University Medical Center looking into just what happens to the bones of a patient taking a bisphosphonate drug for a long period of time.
“In the early treatment period, patients using bisphosphonates experienced improvements in all parameters, including decreased buckling ratio and increased cross-sectional area,” said Rosenwasser. “However, after four years of use, these trends reversed, revealing an association between prolonged therapy and declining cortical bone structural integrity.”
The press release goes on to say that the cause may be linked to the very thing bisphosphonate drugs were made to do – slow down the body’s natural body remodeling process.
“Recent research suggests that suppressed bone remodeling from long-term bisphosphonate use might result in brittle bone that is prone to atypical fractures,” said Gladnick.
An unrelated study was conducted at Hospital for Special Surgery that took a survey of 21 post-menopausal women who were being treated for femur fractures. More than half of the women had taken bisphosphonate drugs in the past for an average of eight and a half years.
“It is important that we conduct more research and develop sustainable, safe and effective treatments for osteoporosis,” concluded Dr. Rosenwasser.
How Weitz & Luxenberg can help
As press releases like this one continuous emerge, the world is beginning to realize just how much harm Fosamax is causing. Weitz & Luxenberg wants to help those injured by Fosamax by guiding them through the process of filing a lawsuit against Merck & Co. (the manufacturer of Fosamax). Contact us today, and tell us how you were seriously injured by Fosamax. Our representatives can provide you with a free, no obligation legal consultation. Weitz & Luxenberg wants to hear your case.
Source:
http://www6.aaos.org/news/pemr/releases/release.cfm?releasenum=877
see also:
JAMA study confirms Fosamax fracture risk
JAMA publishes study confirming increased risk of femur fractures for older women taking FosamaxJAMA publishes study citing increased femur fracture risk for women taking Fosamax
Brittle Bones: Press Release
AAOS press release acknowledges link between Fosamax and brittle bonesLink found between fosamax and brittle bones states AAOS in 2010 press release
Fosamax News
Ongoing news coverage of the drug Fosamax and the life-threatening side-effects it carriesWeitz & Luxenberg's ongoing coverage of Fosamax news stories
