Is osteoporosis drug Fosamax linked to a rare type of fracture in the femur?
June 5, 2008 by Marijke Durning, RN
Filed under Diseases & Conditions
The latest drug to hit the news about possible problems is Fosamax, a popular osteoporosis medication (Side Effect Watch: Femur Fractures in Fosamax Patients). According to study findings published in the Journal of Orthopedic Trauma, several patients who took Fosamax and who had fractures of the femur (thigh bone), showed evidence of a rare type of fracture. But, if you look closely at the study, at least the way I read it, more patients who didn’t take Fosamax had the same type of fracture. You can find the abstract of the article here.
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Spontaneous Mid Femur Fractures on Bisphosphonates
Dr. Odvina’s 2005 report of spontaneous femur fractures in women on fosamax raises questions about the entire bisphosphonate class of drugs.
This report by Odvina has been duplicated by Goh with his 2007 report in the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery of subtrochanteric femur fractures with minimal trauma in women on long term fosamax.
A third report of spontaneous femur fractures in menopausal women on fosamax was reported by Dr. Joseph M Lane in the New England Journal March 20, and in the June 2008 Journal of Orthopaedic Trauma.
How many menopausal women must suffer spontaneous mid femur fractures before we declare enough is enough and ban this entire class of drugs?
To read more….
http://jeffreydach.com/2008/03/09/bisphosphonates-for-osteoporosis-a-closer-look-at-the-data-by-jeffrey-dach-md.aspx