A Brief Respite from Bisphosphonates may Prevent Fractures
In recent months bisphosphonates such as Fosamax and Boniva have been linked to an unusual bone fracture called femoral stress fracture. A recent small study found that those who take Fosamax may be actually slowing the healing of stress fractures. The study followed 70 people of which 76 percent of them suffered a femoral stress fracture compared to 2 percent who did not take the drug. “While bisphosphonates like Fosamax have been proven to successfully treat osteoporosis and other metabolic bone diseases, we believe long-term use of these drugs may suppress the ability of bones to heal in some patients,” said the study's lead author, Dean Lorich, of New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center. The findings are reported in the latest issue of the journal Orthopaedic Trauma. The researchers feel that the use of bisphosophonates can strengthen bones enough to prevent devastating hip fractures, but they also suggest that patients may benefit from taking brief respites between dosages, thus giving their system a “holiday” from the medicine.
