Some new research into biphosphanates - worth a read

[Mo51]

imperial.ac.uk/news/177851/...

[Stayloose]

I notice that this study was done 5 yrs ago. I presume it's been researched further. It would be interesting to know about further outcomes. Thank you for posting the link.

[FearFracture in reply to Stayloose]

Also, all of the patients in this study who had the micro-fractures also had hip fractures, so, as someone who has taken bisphosphonates and who has not had any fractures, seriously hoping that these folks don’t represent what is going on with most ppl taking these meds.

[Stayloose in reply to FearFracture]

It was one very small study that threw up something strange, not seen before. If it was very concerning I imagine that if it had been replicated, and all variables taken into consideration, there would be reluctance to prescribe it.

[Met00]

There have been one or two other studies done prior to this one, but more to the point, it's already known that taking bisphosphonates long-term can very rarely actually cause unexpected fractures, which is why it's now recommended to have a medication "holiday" after 5 years. Bisphosphonates work by retaining old bone, which then interrupts the process of creating new bone, so the denser bone that results is of poorer quality than normal, healthy bone. This has to be balanced against the evidence that bisphosphonate treatment reduces an individual's fracture risk by 50%, so despite the poorer bone quality, in the short-term you may be less likely to fracture than would have been the case without meds. I say "may be", because some people do continue to fracture, despite the meds - the fracture risk is only reduced, not removed. If you have a low fracture risk to start with, you may wonder whether it's worth the risk of side effects to bring that down. For example, if your fracture risk is 10%, what that actually means is that if 100 people have the same 10% fracture risk, 90 of them won't actually fracture, Without meds, 10 will fracture, with meds, 5 will still fracture. I prefer to look at my chance of not fracturing - so even if I had a 20% chance of fracture, I might still be amongst the 80 in 100 who don't fracture.

[walk21]

Surely it is this sort of work, not new but 2017, that has led to recommendations for a drug holiday so that normal growth and repair can take place for a while.

[Mo51 in reply to walk21]

Apologies - didn't read the date. It was sent to me as "new". It is new to me 😂😂

[Fruitandnutcase in reply to Mo51]

I wouldn’t worry about the timing of it Mo51. Thank you for posting it - it is interesting to read and something to be aware of. As far as I have found there really doesn’t seem to be much in the way of recent independent research into osteoporosis drugs being published. So thank you.

[Kaarina in reply to Mo51]

No worries, Mo, I read it. Thank you.