What are benefits of Fosamax?

Fosamax is prescribed for the prevention and treatment of osteoporosis in post-menopausal women who are prone to loss of bone mineral density, also known as thinning of the bones. Thin or brittle bones cause spinal and hip fractures.

Women and their doctors have to assess Fosamax benefits vs. Fosamax risks.

Fosamax benefits include:

1. Treating and preventing osteoporosis-related bone loss
2. Maintaining bone mineral density (BMD) regardless of the age of the patient or the extent of bone loss at the start of treatment

According to March 2010 findings in the New England Journal of Medicine, occurrence of fracture of the femur was very rare, even among women who had been treated with bisphosphonates like Fosamax for as long as 10 years. There was no significant increase in risk associated with bisphosphonate use, but the study was underpowered for definitive conclusions.

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The benefits of Fosamax only apply to women with osteoporosis. Women, who have osteopenia, have a much lower risk of broken bones and it is unknown at this time whether most women with osteopenia would benefit from Fosamax.

Although Fosamax femur fractures may be rare occurrences, they still happen and if it’s happened to you, then contact the Fosamax lawsuit lawyers for your free consultation.

According to findings in the New England Journal of Medicine

Postmenopausal women taking 10 mg of Fosamax daily for 10 years had a 13 percent average increase in bone mineral density. Bone density remained stable at other bone sites measured during the study.

For a second group of women who took Fosamax for the first five years of the trial, but then discontinued the drug, these women saw gradual declines in bone density during a five-year period after discontinuing therapy, but therapeutic benefits remained throughout the follow-up period.

Millions of postmenopausal women in the U.S. have taken Fosamax since it was first approved in 1995, and the findings should reassure those who are approaching the end of their first decade on the drug.

"The two main questions that people might have about the long-term effects of this drug and the others are, 'Do they work?' and 'Is there any harm in long-term treatment?'" the study's aptly named lead researcher, Henry G. Bone, MD, tells WebMD. "Our findings 10 years out suggest that this drug continues to work with no indication of any negative impact related to its long-term use."

Benefits Continued After Treatment Stopped

Postmenopausal women taking 10 mg of Fosamax daily for 10 years had an average increase in bone mineral density at the spine of 13%. And bone density remained stable at other bone sites measured during the study.

A second group of women who took Fosamax for the first five years of the trial, but then discontinued the drug, saw gradual declines in bone density during a five-year period after discontinuing therapy, but therapeutic benefits remained throughout the follow-up period.

The findings are published in the March 18 issue of The New England Journal of Medicine.

Fosamax and most other drugs used to prevent bone loss work by slowing the natural breakdown of bone. In doing so, the mineral content of bones may overly increase, a process known as mineralization. There has been some concern that too much mineralization could cause bones to become more brittle and susceptible to fractures. The latest findings showed little evidence of this, but the study's small size prevented the authors from studying fractures.

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Osteoporosis treatment expert Gordon J. Strewler, MD, of Harvard Medical School, says there are still unanswered questions about the long-term benefits of osteoporosis treatments like Fosamax. In an editorial accompanying the study, Strewler writes that clinicians need "better data regarding the relative risk of fracture associated with continued treatment as compared with the discontinuation of treatment."

"Although 10 years of [Fosamax] treatment appears to be safe, the optimal duration of treatment has not been established," he notes. "Is there an eventual point at which the benefit of treatment with regard to protection of fractures will diminish? ... Could treatment be stopped after 10 or more years with persistent protection against fractures?"

If you have osteoporosis, talk to your doctor about all of your options, including the risks that are associated with each. Lawyers are available if you believe you were harmed by using Fosamax or any other type of bisphosphonate medication, and to date, many people have filed Fosamax lawsuit against manufacturer Merck & Co. Talk to a Fosamax lawyer today to learn more about your rights.

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