Bisphosphonate News and Research

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Bisphosphonate is a drug or substance used to treat hypercalcemia (abnormally high blood calcium) and bone pain caused by some types of cancer. Forms of bisphosphonates are also used to treat osteoporosis and for bone imaging. Bisphosphonates inhibit a type of bone cell that breaks down bone. Also called diphosphonate.

UCSF study: Unusual femur fractures low in patients with osteoporosis

The occurrence of an unusual type of fracture of the femur, or the thigh bone, is very low in patients with osteoporosis, including those treated with the drug family known as bisphosphonates, according to a new study led by a team of UCSF epidemiologists.

26 Mar 2010

$Osteoporosis drugs falsely implicated in rare thigh bone fractures, say new reports$

Osteoporosis drugs falsely implicated in rare thigh bone fractures, say new reports

Osteoporosis is a disease of the bones usually affecting elderly women and causes the bones to become brittle and easily breakable. Since last two years some alarming reports of women on drugs for therapy of this disease have come to notice. These reports show that these drugs intended for therapy may result in rare and serious fractures of their thigh bones where the bones break clean or may splinter. Often these fractures were not associated with any fall or impact. Moreover some of the sufferers are middle aged women in their 50’s who do not have full blown osteoporosis, a condition known as pre-osteoporosis or osteopenia.

25 Mar 2010

$Bisphosphonate treatments may affect bone quality and increase risk of atypical fractures of femur$

Bisphosphonate treatments may affect bone quality and increase risk of atypical fractures of femur

Bisphosphonate treatments, proven to enhance bone density and reduce fracture incidence in post-menopausal women, may adversely affect bone quality and increase risk of atypical fractures of the femur when used for four or more years, according to preliminary research presented today at the 2010 Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons.

12 Mar 2010

$ASBMR Task Force studies link between long-term bisphosphonate usage and rare bone fractures$

ASBMR Task Force studies link between long-term bisphosphonate usage and rare bone fractures

Recent reports suggesting a link between long-term bisphosphonate usage and rare bone fractures have sparked rising concern among patients, health care professionals and the public. The American Society of Bone and Mineral Research (ASBMR) is examining this urgent clinical issue and will present its findings later this year.

12 Mar 2010

$Long-term use of bisphosphonates may adversely affect bone quality and increase risk of atypical fractures$

Long-term use of bisphosphonates may adversely affect bone quality and increase risk of atypical fractures

10 Mar 2010

Bisphosphonates may lower risk of breast cancer

Women who take some types of bone-building drugs used to prevent and treat osteoporosis may be at lower risk of breast cancer, according to a study by U.S. researchers published today in the British Journal of Cancer.

3 Mar 2010

Bisphosphonate drugs used to prevent osteoporosis may also help reduce risk of breast cancer

A DRUG commonly used to prevent and treat bones losing density and becoming brittle - known as osteoporosis - may also help reduce the risk of breast cancer by one third or more according to new research published in the British Journal of Cancer today (Wednesday).

3 Mar 2010

New data suggests bisphosphonate drug may play a role in reducing recurrent breast cancer

Bisphosphonates are routinely given to women with postmenopausal breast cancer, but new data suggests that these agents may play a role in reducing recurrent breast cancer as well.

11 Dec 2009

New data demonstrating the strength of Novartis' hematology portfolio to be presented

Novartis announced today that new data, including a late-breaking presentation on Tasigna® (nilotinib) 200 mg capsules in a form of chronic myeloid leukemia, demonstrate the strength of the company's hematology portfolio in advancing the care of patients.

2 Dec 2009

U.S. Court rules in Merck's favor in Flemings case involving FOSAMAX

Merck said today that U.S. District Court Judge John F. Keenan granted summary judgment in Merck's favor in Flemings v. Merck. Flemings is the second of three cases involving FOSAMAX (alendronate sodium) designated by the federal MDL court as a bellwether trial case.

24 Nov 2009

Osteologix to continue clinical development of NB S101 osteoporosis drug

Osteologix, Inc., a bio-pharmaceutical company announced today that the company will continue the clinical development for its osteoporosis drug, NB S101 (strontium malonate), in the United States and the rest of the world markets. Additionally, the company wants to recognize World Osteoporosis Day’s significance and make more people aware of its research dedicated to improving the lives of people with osteoporosis.

21 Oct 2009

Drug carrier that cuts off blood supply to tumors

To that end, Dr. Ronit Satchi-Fainaro of Tel Aviv University's Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Sackler School of Medicine, and her team of researchers have developed a new drug carrier to deliver compounds straight to the tumor.

18 Sep 2009

Research data reveals why women discontinue treatment with current osteoporosis therapies

Amgen Inc. today announced the presentation of data highlighting the links between medication satisfaction, adherence to therapy and fracture risk reduction among women with postmenopausal osteoporosis. The data were presented at the 31st annual meeting of the American Society for Bone Mineral Research (ASBMR).

14 Sep 2009

Yeast mutants may yield new opportunities for anticancer drug development

Until now, the mode of action of nitrogen-containing bisphosphonate (N-BP) cancer drugs, used to relieve bone pain and to prevent skeletal complications in bone metastasis, has been almost entirely unknown. Researchers writing in BioMed Central's open access journal Genome Biology have used 'barcoded' yeast mutants to identify new biological processes involved in the cellular response to N-BPs, opening up opportunities for the development of new anticancer drugs.

10 Sep 2009

Estrogen supplements do not suppress bone loss in postmenopausal women

Dietary supplements claiming to help postmenopausal women with bone health may not be doing what they say, according to new research from Purdue University.

3 Sep 2009

Zoledronic acid may save lives by strengthening immune system

An osteoporosis drug proven to save lives after hip fractures may do so by strengthening the body's immune system, according to geriatrics researchers at Duke University Medical Center.

19 Jul 2009

$Vitamin D and Calcium supplements help prevent bone fracture in the elderly$

Vitamin D and Calcium supplements help prevent bone fracture in the elderly

We all know that vitamin D and calcium are good for bones, but research teams in Europe and USA have shown that both taken daily reduces the rate of hip fracture in older people by 20%.

27 May 2009

DHEA supplement combined with vitamin D and calcium significantly improves spinal bone density in older women

"The results of our study are very promising. Similar studies have demonstrated much smaller benefits for bone than we found. However, calcium and vitamin D deficiencies, which are present in half of older adults, may have prevented DHEA from improving bone density in the earlier studies," said Edward Weiss, Ph.D., associate professor of nutrition and dietetics at Saint Louis University's Doisy College of Health Sciences and lead author of the study.

12 May 2009

X-rays help predict permanent bone damage from bisphosphonates

Breast cancer patients, individuals at risk for osteoporosis and those undergoing certain types of bone cancer therapies often take drugs containing bisphosphonates. These drugs have been found to place people at risk for developing osteonecrosis of the jaws (a rotting of the jaw bones).

7 May 2009

Link between widely used osteoporosis drugs and heart problems probed

New research at Wake Forest University School of Medicine evaluated the link between a common class of drugs used to prevent bone fractures in osteoporosis patients and the development of irregular heartbeat.

6 Apr 2009