Early Bone Density Tests Induce Over Treatment with Fosamax

Since women are at higher risk for osteoporosis, they tend to get more bone density tests during their younger years, hoping that they may be able detect the problem early and give remedy to it, according to an international wire agency service. Fosamax is a prescription drug used to treat osteoporosis or osteopenia, especially in women. However, early detection of bone problem may lead to over treatment with Fosamax. Medical associations have raised fears that when Fosamax is overly used, this may raise the risk of some women to unusual incidences of femur fractures.

Women with bone problems are advised to include foods rich in calcium, vitamin C in their diet. Adequate amount of vitamin D is also beneficial against bone problems.

Read More: Osteoporosis Tests Over-Performed, Lead to Fosamax Over-Prescription, NYT Article Argues

The Detrimental Link Between Celiac Disease and Osteoporosis

Chronic diseases are complex health conditions that may take more than a one-dimensional treatment strategy, medical experts say, highlighting the importance of a multi-faceted approach in possibly reversing or managing long-standing illnesses. As with any recurrent ailment, there are certain aspects that need to be taken into serious account including those that crucially play a role in the improvement of the disease and course of the treatment. These factors may include any underlying condition, and most importantly, the potential risk a patient may be faced from a certain drug therapy. While treatment to osteoporosis has become more accessible in recent years, reports of low-impact thighbone fractures from bone drugs such as Fosamax have also been increasingly involved in several legal claims. As the number of lawsuits continue to grow, Merck moved for femur fracture claims to be consolidated in a district court. Notwithstanding that such motion has been eventually reached, disagreeing plaintiffs made the road to Fosamax femur fracture MDL not without obstacles for the patented alendronate innovator.

As were any long-standing health condition, landing the most suitable treatment approach to osteoporosis may also mean addressing any underlying condition that may have contributed to its development, health experts say. In addition to common biological factors including frame size, age, and gender, osteoporosis may also come in as a consequence of another health condition including celiac disease.

Celiac disease is a digestive condition that causes damage to the inner surface of the small intestine which is triggered by the consumption of gluten, which is normally found in foods wheat, barley or rye, according to medical journals. Intestinal damage seen in untreated celiac disease can lead to chronic malabsorption of nutrients including those that are vital for healthy bones such as calcium.

While nutritional deficiencies from celiac disease also make patients susceptible to other diseases including autoimmune disorders, and lactose intolerance, the risk of osteoporosis is especially high especially in individuals who may have not received diagnosis until adulthood. Health experts advise that celiac disease patients go through bone density check to ascertain their risk of osteopenia and osteoporosis.

In most cases, treating osteoporosis as an underlying condition of celiac disease may mean adopting a gluten-free and calcium- and vitamin D diet, engaging in physical activities, and cessation of smoking and excessive alcohol consumption. When deemed necessary, a patient’s prescribing clinician may also fill out a bisphosphonate prescription as preventative treatment to osteoporosis.

Taking a prescription bone drug like Fosamax for a long-term basis has been reported to cause certain inadvertent effects including a low-impact thigh bone fracture. Purportedly failing to warn patients and doctors about the potential risk of adverse events, Merck is now facing a number of Fosamax lawsuits filed by former users of the drug. Relevant material from http://www.fosamax-lawsuit.net may be of great help to those who may be needing legal assistance.

Sources:
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001280/

celiacdisease.about.com/od/medicalguidelines/a/osteoporosis.htm

mayoclinic.com/health/celiac-disease/DS00319/DSECTION=treatments-and-drugs

niams.nih.gov/health_info/bone/osteoporosis/conditions_behaviors/celiac.asp

Getting Ahead in Reducing Your Risk of Hip Fractures

Nearly everyone will experience a broken bone at a certain point within his or her lifetime, health experts say, pointing out that such occurrences may often come as a result of twisting injuries, direct blows, or falls from early childhood, high intensity sport, or accident. While most fractures are easy to detect, broken bones are at times difficult to diagnose and may occur even with the absence of a high-impact trauma as a dire consequence of osteoporosis in most ageing men and women. In a bid to keep the risk of fractures in check, most elderly adults receive prescriptions of bone-sparing medications such as Fosamax. However, in the height of complaints from longtime bisphosphonates users, medical professionals and patients alike may find themselves asking “Is long-term Fosamax use advisable?” as a question of safety.

Hip fractures have been reported to be one of the most prevalent fracture injuries among elderly adults, government statistics reports, further reckoning how the rate of hip fractures in both older men and are most likely to exponentially increase with advancing age. Injuries from broken hips have been reported to annually occur in nearly 300,000 senior adults in the United States, with researchers foreseeing the rate of hip fractures to exceed 500,000 by 2040. Considered as the most serious type of fracture, most fall-related deaths have been attributed to complications from a hip fracture, with at least one out of five patients dying within a year following the hip fracture injury.

With the increasing threat of injuries and potential deaths from fall-related fractures in osteoporotic patients, health experts recommend fall prevention strategies to help patients get ahead in lowering their risk of fractures in the hip. These include improving leg strength for a better balance through regular exercise, maximizing eye vision by proactively visiting an eye doctor for an annual vision check-up, working a collaborative effort with a prescribing clinician to identify medications that may cause dizziness or drowsiness as side effects, and improving safety at home by reducing tripping hazards, adding grab bars or stair railings, and improving lighting.

Early studies also reveal the substantial efficacy of bisphosphonates in reducing the risk of repeat fractures in hip-fracture patients. However, certain osteoporosis drugs such as Fosamax have also been reported to cause spontaneous femur fractures that reportedly became the subject of most compensatory claims against Fosamax, and drug maker Merck and Co. The Fosamax Lawsuit Help Center features related and updated information pertinent to legal actions and assistance enlisted by several Fosamax users.

URL References:
medicinenet.com/fracture/page2.htm
cdc.gov/homeandrecreationalsafety/falls/adulthipfx.html
the-rheumatologist.org/details/article/1458009/Unexpected_Benefits_of_Bisphosphonates_after_Hip_Fracture.html
empowereddoctor.com/lowering-the-risk-of-repeat-osteoporosis-fractures

The Detrimental Relationship of Osteoporosis and Other Health Conditions

A smart treatment plan in dealing with osteoporosis is comprised of several elements, medical expert say, pointing out that devising an efficient treatment approach specifically designed for a particular patient begins with a comprehensive medical history.   As multiple factors are diligently checked by doctors before a prescription is released, it is also of a patient’s advantage to proactively discuss any circumstance that may affect the course of the treatment, including potential side effects that may be encountered.  While medications may vary in effect from person to person, cases of painful and debilitating low-impact fractures at the thighs arising from the long-term use of osteoporosis drugs such as Fosamax, have reportedly been a similar yet distinctive event in some patients.

As with any ailment, finding the most suitable treatment strategy would mean keeping a stern eye at certain factors that may affect the progress and improvement of a certain disease.  In addition to common biological factors including frame size, age, and gender, osteoporosis may also come in as a consequence of another health condition.

Diabetes mellitus, or simply diabetes, has been established as a possible cause of osteoporosis by previously conducted studies.  While the mechanism attributable to this is yet to be discovered, scientists note how high blood sugar may contribute to lower than normal bone formation causing decreased bone mass, which in turn may lead to osteoporosis.

Lupus and rheumatoid arthritis (RA) are chronic inflammatory disorders that also impede bone growth, putting a person at an increased risk of osteoporosis.  People taking steroids such as prednisone for the management of both lupus and RA are also made highly susceptible to the bone disease.

Hyperthyroidism, a disease characterized by too much production of thyroid hormones, also affects bone-remodeling, orthopedic experts say.  With increased production of hormones comes increased number of cycles a bone-remodeling goes through, resulting to inefficient bone formation and increased bone loss especially after age 30.

Celiac disease, also known as Crohn’s disease is a digestive disorder that may cause damage to the lining of the digestive system resulting to poor digestion and absorption of nutrients.  With less absorption of calcium and vitamin D comes an increased risk of osteoporosis due to low bone density.

Asthma and multiple sclerosis (MS), albeit entirely different conditions, have similar reasons for an increase in the risk of osteoporosis, according to medical experts.  As were asthmatic patients, people with MS also take steroid-based drug therapy for treatment, a medication that has been long associated with bone loss.

Whether the disease has been naturally acquired, or whether a patient may have acquired the illness from a certain medication, getting educated of other possible causes may help reduce risks of bone loss and subsequent fractures, and build a promising treatment plan for osteoporosis.

Bisphosphonate drugs are the most frequently used therapy to prevent and treat osteoporosis, as well as reduce the risk of osteoporosis-related fractures, medical experts say.  But as each drug comes with distinct set of pros and cons, bisphosphonates such as Fosamax has also been reported to carry its own.  The Fosamax Lawsuit Help Center may have relevant information pertinent to inadvertent effects linked to the osteoporosis treatment medication, and corresponding legal actions taken by some patients.

URL References:
webmd.com/osteoporosis/living-with-osteoporosis-7/calcium-supplements?page=2
mayoclinic.com/health/osteoporosis/DS00128/DSECTION=risk-factors
drugs.about.com/od/osteoporosismedications/a/osteo_drugs.htm
orthopedics.about.com/od/osteoporosistreatment/p/osteoporosismedications.htm

The Serious Risks of Untreated Osteoporosis

Bone-related medical conditions have emerged as one of the leading causes of disability, according to government statistics.  Alongside the growing number of elderly people suffering from certain bone diseases, prescriptions for bone medications have also reportedly shown a notable increase.  Despite the apparent efficacy demonstrated by bisphosphonate drugs over the years, numerous reports from patients who may have endured their inadvertent effects have also surfaced, with some of them embarking on legal actions, eager to know the compensation they may be entitled for the injuries and other damages they may have acquired or suffered.

Among several bone-related illnesses, osteoporosis is not one to be underestimated.  As bone diseases were infamously reputed as silent perpetrators, osteoporosis usually takes on a person’s muscoskeletal structure without letting known its existence, sometimes only uncovered after its potentially disabling implications have already taken place.  While some older adults who may have been aware of the disease may have taken precautions through prevention, other elderly people may have detected osteoporosis a little too late into the severity of the disease’s progression.

Many people at risk of the serious bone condition and who may have not been aware of the consequences of untreated osteoporosis may be eventually faced with equally debilitating, if not more impairing health repercussions, greatly causing an impact to a poorer quality of life.

Medical journals describe osteoporosis as a muscoskeletal condition characterized by the gradual thinning of the bone tissue and loss of bone density over time.  As the health condition causes the bones to become frail, osteoporotic patients become highly susceptible to pain and fractures acquired from falls.  Elderly people who may have poorer balance are especially vulnerable to fractures commonly occurring in the hips, according to bone experts.

One of the most common complications of unaddressed osteoporosis is compression fractures, health experts say, describing these fractures as the collapse or compression of normal vertebral body of the spine.  Multiple compression fractures sustained by osteoporotic patients may also be recognized through noticeable spine curvature, like that of a hunchback, also known in medical terms as kyphotic deformity.

The key to treating osteoporosis is prevention, many orthopedic experts say, indicating that responding to the afflicted especially those who may be severe relies on impeding fractures with bone-strengthening medications called bisphosphonates.  However, some people may contemplate on using a natural approach from proper nutrition of calcium and vitamin D to potentially avoid additional health risks bisphosphonates such as Fosamax have been reported to cause.  Relevant information may be found in http://www.fosamax-lawsuit.net as regard legal actions embarked by some patients who may have a direct experience on the less desirable and serious effects of the bone-sparing drug.

URL References:
health.usnews.com/health-news/family-health/bones-joints-and-muscles/articles/2011/09/09/osteoporosis-drugs-safety-subject-of-fda-panel
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001400/
livestrong.com/article/117621-complications-osteoporosis/#ixzz228UvhHER
orthopedics.about.com/cs/brokenbones/a/compression.htm

Greater Risks of Osteoporosis, Fractures, and Mortality Linked to Premature Menopause in Women

Early menopause may increase the risk of osteoporosis later on, a recent study suggests, explaining that women whose menopause arrives prematurely may be faced with increased chances of osteoporosis, subsequent fractures, and mortality as compared to other women.

The Swedish researchers who have had their research published in an online edition of BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, reportedly zeroed in on the long-standing impacts early menopause may cause on risks of osteoporosis, fragility fractures, and rate of fatality, with the exclusion of factors that may contribute to premature menopause such as cancer treatment or surgery for extraction of the ovaries.

The findings come from an observational study of which the onset reportedly took place in 1977, involving more than 390 Caucasian women aged 48 in average from northern Europe whose bone mineral density (BMD) were measured, and frailty and mortality were tracked for more than 30 years.  Three decades after classifying all study cohorts in two different categories — participants whose menopause started before turning 47and women who started menopause beyond the age of 47 — all eligible women who at this point were at the age of 77 were re-measured for BMD.  By the time, only 298 were still alive, while 92 had reportedly died out of 390 participants initially at the study.  Of the 298 volunteers, a hundred had relocated and declined participation, leaving only 198 women available for follow-up measurement sessions.

In the study, the research team found that 56 percent of women whose menopause came in early had osteoporosis by the age of 77, as opposed to 30 percent of women with late menopause.  An increased risk of fragility fracture of 44.3 percent was also observed in early-menopausal women, compared to 30.7 percent of participants in the late menopause group.  Participants belonging to the early menopause group also showed a higher mortality rate of 52.4 percent, while their late-menopausal peers showed a 30.7 percent death rate as a group.

“The results of this study suggest that early menopause is a significant risk factor for osteoporosis, fragility fracture and mortality in a long-term perspective. To our knowledge, this is the first prospective study with a follow-up period of more than three decades.”, concluded lead author Dr. Ola Svejme, an orthopedic surgeon from the Skane University Hospital in Sweden.

Osteoporosis is a debilitating condition that may wreak havoc to a person’s physicality when left untreated, according to health experts.  It may affect anyone irrespective of gender and age, however, older women have been known to be especially vulnerable to the deficiency especially during menopausal phase.  While osteoporosis and certain bone disorders may be treated with medications such as biphosphonate drugs like Fosamax, patients with milder symptoms may lean more toward non-medicated therapies to impede the potential adverse effects that have been reportedly linked to certain bisphosphonates including atypical femur fractures, dental problems, and death of the jawbone.

URL References:
sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/04/120424205337.htm
medicalnewstoday.com/articles/244657.php
livestrong.com/article/39889-fosamax-side-effects/
mayoclinic.com/health/osteoporosis/DS00128/

Unmasking Osteoporosis: Taking The Bone Disease Into Careful Account

Osteoporosis has reportedly emerged as a silent yet daunting and debilitating major health epidemic, according to US government statistics, demonstrating that around 10 million Americans are suffering from the physical challenges brought about by the bone disease. About 34 million people have been reported to have decreased bone density, subsequently placing them at an increased risk for the condition’s symptomless development.  The staggering proportions of osteoporosis have reportedly prevailed in taking an uphill slope, showing a 300 percent increase over the last three decades in the United States alone.

Among the many different bone diseases classified in medical terms, osteoporosis have been reported to be the most common, soaring among the ranks of various bone conditions such as Paget’s disease and other bone deficiencies, affecting over 200 million people all over the world.  Although its prevalence may differ by age, gender, and geographical location, substantial indications demonstrated by worldwide statistics reports show how osteoporosis has surfaced as a disease that has plagued millions of individuals with a string of physical challenges and impairment.

As cited by medical journals, osteoporosis is a bone disease characterized by the thinning of bone tissue and loss of bone density over time.  The medical condition has been known to cause a person’s bones to become excessively frail and brittle, weak enough to put the afflicted to an increased susceptibility to fractures even from mild stresses like bending over or coughing.  While osteoporosis has been reported to strike its prey irrespective of age, gender and race, it has been found more frequently in people over 50 years old, has been observed as more prevalent in women, and recognized as common in individuals of Caucasian or Asian descent.

The development of osteoporosis may not be solely attributable to biological factors such as sex, age, race, frame size, and medical or family history of fractures, medical experts say, pointing out that as were other diseases, a person may also acquire the bone deficiency as a result from lifestyle choices, or a complication from another medical condition and its corresponding treatment.  These risk factors include insufficient levels of certain minerals and vitamins in the body such as calcium and vitamin D, unhealthy habits such as sedentary lifestyle, smoking, and excessive alcohol intake, which also have been attributed to the long-term use of certain medications used to combat or prevent seizures, cancer, transplant rejection, gastric reflux, and depression.

While osteoporosis has been dubbed as a “silent” killer due to its symptomless development, a person may take the disease’s first warning signs from fall or fracture-related pain at certain areas of the body.  An individual who may be afflicted with osteoporosis may recognize its symptoms from frequent back pains or loss of height, broken hips from doing even routine activities, wrist pain from a minor fall or bump, and rib fracture from coughing, sneezing, bending over, or twisting.

Treating osteoporosis is based on prevention, according to medical experts, explaining that the approach normally taken to respond to the disease is based on preventing fractures through the use of medication that may help strengthen a person’s bones.  However, certain drugs indicated for osteoporosis such as Fosamax, otherwise known by its generic equivalent alendronate, has been reportedly associated with a number of inadvertent effects, including a rare jaw disorder known in medical terms as osteonecrosis.

Despite the challenges of identifying and responding to the condition, its recognition and treatment is far from impossible, orthopedic specialists say, explaining that for as long as a person puts the illness at the forefront of his or her mind as one ages, and be especially keen to its risks factors and stealthy yet prevailing manifestations, he or she or even a loved one may be spared from its detrimental and disabling effects.  Everybody — men or women, young or old, Caucasian or not — are encouraged to consult a doctor or a bone specialist as soon as any unusual aches from an ordinary routine becomes extremely painful, bothersome, and threatening to possibly prevent and lessen the impact of osteoporosis.

URL References:

livestrong.com/article/215272-aches-from-osteoporosis/

aaos.org/about/papers/position/1113.asp

mayoclinic.com/health/osteoporosis/DS00128/

peak-personaltraining.com/article-osteoporosiscalcium.html

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001400/