Osteoporosis

Amgen Inc. said its experimental osteoporosis drug denosumab reduced fractures in women with the bone-thinning disease in a study. The trial of 7,800 women with osteoporosis found that denosumab strengthened bones and reduced spinal and hip fractures, the Thousand Oaks-based company said.

It can be swallowed, injected, inhaled or delivered to the bloodstream through a time-release implant. Now scientists say they have devised a new way to give patients their medicine: through a fingertip-size microchip embedded in the body that doctors can control remotely via a wireless connection. The drug chip, more than a dozen years in the making, was used to deliver bone-strengthening hormones to women with advanced osteoporosis who otherwise would have needed daily injections.

Until recently, post-menopausal women seeking treatment for osteoporosis had few options other than estrogen replacement and calcium supplements. Both are still widely used, but they've been augmented by several new and immensely profitable medications that retard bone loss and prevent fractures. Women who take any of these prescription drugs also must be sure to get at least 1,200 mg of calcium from food and supplements and at least 400 international units of vitamin D.

Vitamin D works with calcium to strengthen bones. But adequate levels of vitamin D in the bloodstream also appear to boost the power of bisphosphonates, medications used to treat osteoporosis, according to research presented Monday. The study adds to the evidence that the current recommendations for vitamin D may be too low. Late last year, the Institute of Medicine issued a report that declined to make changes to the recommendation -- despite many new studies supporting the need for more vitamin D than is typically consumed.

Belly fat not only may keep some women from squeezing into a pair of skinny jeans, it also may be wreaking havoc on their bones. A new study finds that belly fat in women might increase their risk of osteoporosis. The study presented Tuesday at a Radiological Society of North America meeting in Chicago found that women with deep abdominal fat -- that is, fat underneath muscles deep in the abdominal cavity -- had increased bone-marrow fat and decreased bone density. The findings seem to reverse earlier thinking that excess body fat protected women from bone loss.

Osteoporosis is a disease that often goes undetected in women -- until they break a bone. Now a federal task force recommends osteoporosis screening not just for women 65 and older, as has long been the case, but also for young women who show the same risk factors as a 65-year-old white woman. The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force report published in the January issue of Annals of Internal Medicine says white women are used as the benchmark because they appear to be at higher risk for the disease than any other ethnic group.

Osteoporosis, which afflicts an estimated 10 million Americans, can lead to poor posture, hip fractures and back pain. For a free copy of "The Myths and Realities of Osteoporosis," call (310) 854-0909 or find the information at http://osteoporosis.org.

Pfizer Inc. and Procter & Gamble Co. have scrapped plans to co-develop an osteoporosis drug after failing to agree on final commercial terms. Last September, the companies agreed to jointly develop Procter & Gamble's prescription drug, Risedronate, to treat osteoporosis. The companies said late Tuesday they were unable to reach final commercial terms, but didn't elaborate.

Calcium is important for bone health, but medical experts have long debated how much calcium people should consume to reduce the risk of osteoporosis later in life. A new study suggests that the U.S. recommendation for adult women may be unnecessarily high. The recommended dietary allowance for women ages 51 and older in the United States is 1,200 milligrams a day --  compared with the recommendation in the United Kingdom of 700 milligrams per day. The new study, published online Tuesday in the British Medical Journal , suggests that consuming more than 700 mg a day won't help.

The Osteoporosis Medical Center in Beverly Hills is seeking post-menopausal women with osteoporosis for a three-year study of a new drug, tiludronate, to treat the disease. The study will evaluate the drug's effectiveness in increasing bone mineral density and decreasing vertebral fracture rates. Eligible study participants will receive free physical exams, X-rays and bone density tests. Testing and follow-up visits will be done at the nonprofit clinical research facility, 450 N. Bedford Drive.

Osteoporosis drugs can definitely strengthen bones. However, studies and patient reports over the last four years have uncovered a surprising danger: In some cases, these drugs seem to be breaking bones instead of protecting them. Now a new study from Sweden has helped put that risk of drug-induced breaks into perspective. The study concluded that the drugs, such as Fosamax, Boniva, Actonel, Atelvia and Reclast, caused one broken femur for every 2,000 people who used them for a year.

Calcium is important for bone health, but medical experts have long debated how much calcium people should consume to reduce the risk of osteoporosis later in life. A new study suggests that the U.S. recommendation for adult women may be unnecessarily high. The recommended dietary allowance for women ages 51 and older in the United States is 1,200 milligrams a day --  compared with the recommendation in the United Kingdom of 700 milligrams per day. The new study, published online Tuesday in the British Medical Journal , suggests that consuming more than 700 mg a day won't help.

By Amanda Leigh Mascarelli As we age, our bones become thinner and more porous. No one disputes that. For the first four decades of life, men and women's bones undergo a continual renewal, shedding collagen and then rebuilding through mineralization — a process that plateaus in midlife for both men and women. But whereas men's bone density typically declines gradually over their lifetimes, bone loss accelerates rapidly for women during menopause because of the lack of estrogen.

As women age, they find themselves at greater risk of developing a variety of health problems. Should osteopenia be one of them? The condition was recognized nearly 20 years ago by the World Health Organization as a potential precursor to osteoporosis, a severe thinning of the bones that can lead to increased risk of bone fracture. The idea was that women whose bones had started to thin could take action to reverse the trend before it was too late. Osteopenia is identified by comparing a woman's bone density with that of a "young healthy adult" at peak bone density, around age 30. The problem is, all women — and, to a lesser extent, men — begin to lose bone mass in midlife after the natural renewal process plateaus.

Osteoporosis drugs known as bisphosphonates have pros and cons that should be carefully considered by doctors and their patients, according to a new study assessing their impact. The medications, which include the brands Fosamax and Reclast, clearly reduce the risk of typical fractures caused by osteoporosis such as breaks in the hip and spine. However, the new study clarifies recent findings that the drugs increase the risk of other types of fractures. These so-called "atypical" fractures occur in the femur and in the bone just below the hip joint.

Osteoporosis medications called bisphosphonates are known to reduce the risk of bone fractures. But they also appear to extend life -- although researchers don't yet know how they do this. In a study of 362 people released Wednesday, Australian scientists found that people taking bisphosphonates -- which include the medications Fosamax, Boniva and Actonel -- gain an extra five years of life compared with people with osteoporosis who were taking other forms of therapy for the illness -- such as calcium, vitamin D or hormone therapy -- and those taking no therapy.

Kyphon Inc. said Monday that it had received U.S. regulatory approval for a bone cement used to treat fractures in the spine brought on by osteoporosis. Shares of the Sunnyvale, Calif.-based company closed up $4.36, or 17.96%, at $28.64 in Nasdaq trading. WR Hambrecht & Co. analyst David Turkaly said the bone cement was the first material specifically indicated for the treatment of osteoporotic fractures.

Celltech Group will work with Amgen Inc. on treatments for osteoporosis, a loss of bone density that can lead to fractures in elderly patients. Amgen gets marketing rights to Celltech drugs that target a protein linked to the illness, said Peter Allen, Celltech's finance director. Celltech will pay some costs until the end of Phase II tests and may opt to get some European rights. Shares of Celltech, Britain's largest biotechnology company, rose 55 cents to $16.85 on the NYSE.

Osteoporosis is a disease that often goes undetected in women -- until they break a bone. Now a federal task force recommends osteoporosis screening not just for women 65 and older, as has long been the case, but also for young women who show the same risk factors as a 65-year-old white woman. The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force report published in the January issue of Annals of Internal Medicine says white women are used as the benchmark because they appear to be at higher risk for the disease than any other ethnic group.

Belly fat not only may keep some women from squeezing into a pair of skinny jeans, it also may be wreaking havoc on their bones. A new study finds that belly fat in women might increase their risk of osteoporosis. The study presented Tuesday at a Radiological Society of North America meeting in Chicago found that women with deep abdominal fat -- that is, fat underneath muscles deep in the abdominal cavity -- had increased bone-marrow fat and decreased bone density. The findings seem to reverse earlier thinking that excess body fat protected women from bone loss.