Bisphosphonates

[HeronNS]

Just shared this to the Bone Health community, but thought info would be of interest here as well:

On another forum someone has posted information about two studies that have been done evaluating studies on bisphosphonates. The results give one food for thought.

Systematic Review of the Efficacy of Bisphosphonates

Systematic Review of the Harms of Bisphosphonates

Worth reading no matter which side of the argument you are on.

ti.ubc.ca/therapeutics-lett...

[PMRpro Ambassador]

Links or a proper reference would be helpful - there are about a dozen systematic reviews if you search just that.

[HeronNS]

These were the exact titles. Googling titles is how I found them from info on the other forum. I had trouble getting the link I copied for one of them to work properly as currently there seems to be a failure on the web page, although it still turns up with a google search, so thought I'd let others do same. Here is the working link:

ti.ubc.ca/2012/06/14/a-syst...

[HeronNS in reply to HeronNS]

This should do it:

ti.ubc.ca/therapeutics-lett...

[Celtic PMRGCAuk volunteer in reply to HeronNS]

Heron, it looks as though the study was carried out on a large number of people so could prove quite useful. I've always hoped never to be in a position where I needed bisphosphonates, and reading the conclusions of this study doesn't do anything to convert me. It also hasn't helped to watch my elderly aunt go through years of bisphosphonate treatment for osteoporosis, being monitored and advised along the way that her bone density was improving, only to still end up with a spinal fracture. Also a member of my PMR support group who also posts on this site has suffered two fractured femurs due to bisphosphonates. I do understand that some people need bone protection and do well on it -perhaps some people are just more vulnerable to the treatment than others. Hopefully future research will bring about a safer treatment - meanwhile, I'll stick to the oily fish, the Vit D, a calcium-rich diet, and cross everything!

[HeronNS in reply to Celtic]

I agree. It is possible that some of us are more prone to side effects than others. Probably a genetic component. For me, working to counteract side effects of prednisone is time consuming enough, and I wouldn't want to risk having to deal with potential side effects of bisphosphonates.