Osteoprosis

Fosamax is in a class of drugs called bisphosphonates (also called diphosphonates) that inhibit osteoclast action and the resorption of bone. It is one of the more popular choices for the treatment of osteoporosis. Natural News warns that Fosamax has been shown to increase the risk of ulcers, especially if taken with anti-inflammatory drugs. The publication also questions whether the medication actually strengthens the bone or makes it weaker.

Fosamax may also carry an even more serious risk. Over the past few years, doctors have reported an increased risk of osteonecrosis of the jaw, or ONJ. ONJ is a severe bone disease that causes a reduced blood supply to the bones of the jaw and results in damage or death to the jaw bone. Severe cases ONJ require the removal of the affected bone. Studies suggest the recent dramatic increase in the number of cases of ONJ may be linked to the use of bisphosphonate therapy, such as Fosamax. Diagosis of ONJ often has followed dental extraction where there was lack of healing, and spontaneous exposure of the cortical bone tissue.

Not surprisingly, Natural News suggests a more natural approach to treating osteoporosis. The publication suggests a diet rich in vegetables and herbs will improve bone metabolism far more effectively than diary products. And prevention is always the best course. Natural News suggests a diet high in fruits, vegetables and protein will help women arm themselves in the bone density battle.

SOURCE: Osteonecrosis and Fosamax › Osteoporosis treatment has serious risks; consider natural therapy

Pharmaceutical companies for 25 years have “imitated the basic business model of Hollywood” and have “focused on creating blockbusters,” which they “hope will appeal to masses” and “promote like mad,” according to the Times. Pharmaceutical companies must spend as much as $1 billion to promote new medications in their first two years on the market to make the products into a “mega-brand” with at least $1 billion in annual sales.

“Only now is it becoming clear that this business model couldn’t work forever,” as the strategy “had a flaw that executives have long ignored” — the approach “required extraordinary amounts of promotion at the expense of scientific creativity,” the Times reports. During the next several years, pharmaceutical companies will lose patent protection on a number of popular and profitable medications — such as the osteoporosis treatment Fosamax, manufactured by Merck, the antipsychotic Risperdal, manufactured by Johnson & Johnson, and the cholesterol medication Lipitor, manufactured by Pfizer — and the “industry’s scientists have hit a dry spell” and are “not discovering enough new drugs to replace the aging standbys,” the Times reports.

“It would be wrong to believe that this is the end of the industry’s wealth and power,” but, as some pharmaceutical companies “struggle, patients will bear the brunt,” with the prices of medications likely to “rise even faster,” according to the Times (Petersen, Los Angeles Times, 1/27).

January 28th, 2008 by Petersen with Los Angeles Times

SOURCE: Osteonecrosis and Fosamax › Pharmaceutical industry focus on ‘blockbuster’ medications