In the early 1990s, hormone replacement therapy (HRT) used to be the mainstay treatment for menopausal symptoms, medical experts say, adding how it used to be the much-sought-after therapy in the prevention of the bone-thinning disease called osteoporosis. However, as reports of the therapy’s potential risks have started to grow, its number of prescriptions has also started to decrease. Later into the decade, the first medication for bone loss has been approved and introduced into the pharmaceutical industry, popularly known as Fosamax. But as medications were known to carry their own distinct side effects, the osteoporosis drug has also been linked to a fair share of adverse events that may have had some patients relying on calcium supplementation, or other natural alternatives.
Alendronate sodium that goes by the trade name Fosamax in the United States, is a bone-sparing drug developed and sold by the American pharmaceutical firm, Merck and Co. As an antiresorptive medication classified within the family of drugs known as bisphosphonates, Fosamax was formulated to treat osteoporosis in postmenopausal women, prevent increase bone loss in men, treat glucocorticoid-induced osteoporosis, Paget’s disease of the bone, and other bone-related diseases.
Alongside the benefits of medications are potential risks, medical researchers say, explaining how the relief from formulations may also be accompanied with their distinct side effects. Although Fosamax has been reported to bring about less bothersome side effects, the osteoporosis drug has also been under scrutiny due to adverse effects that arise in long-term patients.
Previously conducted studies have reportedly found a possible link between the long-term use of Fosamax and the occurrence of spontaneous thighbone fractures that arise from little to no impact in many older women. A small number of cases of osteonecrosis of the jaw – a rare jaw disease that causes the jawbone to deteriorate – has also been associated with the oral use of Fosamax. Atrial fibrillation (irregular and often rapid heart rate), and incapacitating bone, joint, and muscle pain, are also some of the potential health problems associated with bisphosphonates.
Despite these reports of unanticipated side effects, medical experts highlight the crucial role bisphosphonates may play in reducing a person’s risk of fractures from osteoporosis. Patients are advised to keep an open line with their primary care provider and report any adverse symptom as soon as they become evident.
URL References:
nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMc0707493
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2464788/
drugs.com/fosamax.html
mayoclinic.com/health/fosamax/AN01379/
sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/09/100902191327.htm
medpagetoday.com/Endocrinology/Osteoporosis/13665
medicalnewstoday.com/articles/93195.php
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