Osteoporosis Health Center

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News and Features Related to Osteoporosis

Osteoporosis Risks and Complications

When most of us think of the "brittle bone disease" known as osteoporosis, we may picture a frail older woman with stooped posture and a fractured hip, but there really isn't a poster child for osteoporosis. "It could be an elderly lady, a man, or a younger woman who is fine, but is 5 feet tall and
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Osteoporosis Fractures: PT and Pain Management

If you've been diagnosed with osteoporosis, you probably know that you're at risk for fractures. Spinal fractures are the most common fractures linked to osteoporosis, with more than 700,000 of them occurring in the U.S. each year. These bone breaks are known as spinal compression fractures. And whi
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Does My Medication Affect My Bones?

If you have osteoporosis, or are at risk, you want to do all you can to keep your bones as strong as possible. Besides following your doctor's advice on diet and exercise, you should know that some medications are bone-friendly -- and others may have side effects that affect the bones. The medicatio
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FDA OKs Generic Boniva for Bone Loss

March 19, 2012 -- Three generic drugmakers may now sell their own versions of the bone-loss drug Boniva, the FDA ruled today. Boniva, known by the generic name ibandronate, is a once-a-month pill prescribed to prevent or to treat bone loss from osteoporosis. The FDA officially approves Boniva only f
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Drug-Delivery Microchip Could Replace Daily Injections

Feb. 16, 2012 -- An experimental, implanted drug-delivery microchip that releases medication on command from an external wireless control could one day free patients from daily injections and improve treatment compliance. Results from the first human study of the programmable microchip were reported
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Osteoporosis Medication Linked to Unusual Thigh Fractures

Feb. 8, 2012 -- Some drugs used to strengthen bones may increase the risk of an unusual type of fracture if patients take them for many years, a new study shows. Overall, most people with osteoporosis, a loss of bone density over time, will suffer fewer broken bones if they take bisphosphonates, a c
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Bone Density at Age 67 May Predict Later Bone Health

Jan. 18, 2012 -- Women with normal or nearly normal bone density at age 67 may not need repeat testing for about 15 years, according to a new study of nearly 5,000 women. If bone density was normal or nearly so at the study start, "only 10% developed osteoporosis over 15 years,'' says study research
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FDA Panel: Osteoporosis Drugs Need Better Labels

Sept. 9, 2011 -- Labels on bisphosphonates, a type of medication used to treat and prevent osteoporosis, should further clarify how long patients can take them, an FDA advisory panel voted today. But the panel backed off giving any specific time limits. Bisphosphonates include Aclasta, Actonel, Alte
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The Truth About Vitamin D

The hottest topic in medicine isn't the newest drug or the latest surgical device. It's vitamin D. What brought the simmering debate to a boil was a 2007 study showing that people taking normal vitamin D supplements were 7% less likely to die than those who didn't take the daily supplements. A year
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FDA: Osteoporosis Drug Reclast Raises Kidney Failure Risk

Sept. 1, 2011 -- The FDA warns that the osteoporosis drug Reclast (zoledronic acid) raises the risk of kidney failure. The warning is targeted at patients who already suffer from kidney impairment. It's also aimed at those who are taking potentially kidney-damaging (nephrotoxic) medications or diure
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