Word: fosamax
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BONING UP It was big news 16 months ago when drugmakers announced that the powerful osteoporosis medicine Fosamax could be taken once a week instead of once a day. Once a year is even better, and early reports suggest that a yearly, five-minute IV infusion of a relative of Fosamax, called Zometa, may increase bone density of the spine by 5% and of the hip by 3%. So far Zometa doesn't seem to have the side effects of Fosamax, which include abdominal pain and nausea. However, 10% of patients may experience flulike symptoms for a couple of hours...
BONE BUILDERS The list of treatments for osteoporosis--calcium, hormone- replacement therapy, drugs like Fosamax and Evista--may have just got longer. Researchers find that among postmenopausal women with fractures, daily doses of a drug called parathyroid hormone dramatically stimulate bone formation. After 21 months of treatment, women saw their vertebral-bone mass increase up to 13% and the incidence of serious fractures drop a dramatic 85%. Any downside? The yet-to-be-approved drug must be injected and works for only about two years--after which patients may want to switch to another therapy...
There is no cure for osteoporosis, but it can be effectively treated by a powerful class of medications called bisphosphonates; Fosamax and Actonel are the only two that have been approved for men. Some physicians also prescribe testosterone supplements for patients with low testosterone levels, and calcitonin, a drug that slows bone loss...
...bones too. A study of men and women ages 60 and older revealed that daily low doses (25 mg) of hydrochlorothiazide increase bone mass 1%. Even tinier doses (12 mg) at least maintain bone density. The drug may be less effective than other well-known bone builders, such as Fosamax and hormone-replacement therapy, but it is safe, has few side effects and, best of all, costs less than a penny...
...study whose results stunned even the researchers shows that the same statins can reverse osteoporosis--at least in rats. New bone formation increased 50% in lab animals receiving statin drugs for a month, far exceeding the effect of today's osteoporosis options, such as hormone-replacement therapy and Fosamax. The true litmus test: trials on humans, which have yet to begin...