Here's an interesting article about Fosamax that some of you might be interested in:
Published Thursday, February 19, 1998, in the Miami
Herald
Study: Drug can prevent osteoporosis
Associated Press
A new study adds to evidence that an osteoporosis
drug works nearly as well as estrogen in
strengthening the bones of post-menopausal women.
A small dose of alendronate, sold under the brand
name Fosamax, increased bone-mineral density in the
spines and hips of women ages 45 to 59, the age group
in which bone loss is most rapid, the study by
European and American researchers found.
Alendronate was the first nonhormonal drug shown to
combat osteoporosis, a crippling disease that affects
about 25 million Americans, mostly older women.
Previous studies have shown that alendronate slows
bone loss and helps prevent broken bones in women who
already suffer from osteoporosis.
This study, published in today's New England Journal
of Medicine and supported by the maker of Fosamax, is
the first to show that alendronate also can prevent
the disease, said Dr. Beth Dawson-Hughes, an
osteoporosis researcher at Tufts University who was
not involved in the study.
''Estrogen in my view would be the first line [of
treatment], not only because it prevents bone loss,
but it prevents the progression of heart disease . .
. and alleviates menopausal symptoms,'' Dawson-Hughes
said.
However, many women will not take estrogen because of
its side effects and a modest increase in the risk of
breast cancer. |
