The mainstay of therapy for OP these days is one of the bisphosphonate drugs, the two most well known being etidronate (Didrocal) and alendronate (Fosamax). These drugs are quite effective at reducing the incidence of fracture but they also have significant side effects and complications (if you’ve been prescribed one of these products, you really should talk to your doctor or pharmacist about the potential risks – this is one class of drugs you really want to know all you can about), so it’s not surprising that studies show that most people prescribed a bisphosphonate are not taking it 12 months later, which is why there was so  much hype surrounding a recent study about a bisphosphonate that is injected only once a year.
.....In this study published in the esteemed New England Journal of Medicine, the researchers concluded that compared to a placebo, over the three years this study ran, a once-yearly injection of zoledronic acid reduced the risk of hip fracture by 41 % and the incidence of vertebral fracture by 71 %, which led most health commentators to declare that this drug would be a major advance in the fight against OP. As usual, though, I’m not nearly as sure that this drug will prove to be such a breakthrough mostly because I’d be very hesitant to trust any drug that’s given once a year and that’s only been tested on roughly 3000 carefully-selected study participants.
So I’d worry – hey, I worry about everything, so why not this, too? – that once this drug is approved and used more widely, we’ll discover (perhaps over some dead bodies) that this drug is not nearly as safe in the general population as the pre-release studies claimed it was.
.....Bottom line: for most people, OP is not a disease you want to get, but happily, it’s also an easy condition to prevent. You have the keys, mes amis, the rest (le reste) is up to vous, I mean, you.
Dr. Art Hister can be heard on CKNW and other Corus Radio Network stations on House Calls on Saturdays at 10 AM, as well as seen on Global TV news on Saturday mornings at 9:20. |
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