Posted by Phillipa on January 3, 2010, at 23:08:06
In reply to Re: Reclast, repost, posted by Phillipa on January 3, 2010, at 22:51:41
Well here's one I didn't find google search was reclast positive effects. Phillipa Looks like it was done just as reclast was awaiting release.
Osteoporosis drugs - Fosamax, & Reclast - could affect heart
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From: "california_chief" <Fire_Chief@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Fri, 4 May 2007 23:05:47 -0700--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Osteoporosis drugs could affect heart
Two studies link irregular rhythm to Fosamax, Reclast
May 3, 2007BOSTON - Two research reports suggest a possible link between two
bone-building drugs and irregular heart rhythms in a small number of women
who take the medicine.The signs of a problem were more pronounced with Reclast, a drug made by
Novartis AG and given through a once-a-year, 15-minute intravenous infusion.
But there was a hint of similar trouble in a few women who took the leading
osteoporosis pill, Fosamax by Merck & Co.The two drugs are in the same class.
The safety question caught researchers by surprise. While uncertain how big
a worry it might be, they agreed the overall risk is small.Specialists said women at high risk for bone breaks - the main target of
these osteoporosis drugs - should keep taking them as prescribed.But several experts said they'd be cautious about those who are also at
risk for a condition called atrial fibrillation, an irregular heart rhythm
that can cause strokes.The two separate reports published today in The New England Journal of
Medicine point to elevated rates of serious episodes of that heart condition
in women who took Reclast and Fosamax."For the first time, there may be a side effect," said a researcher
involved in both studies, Dr. Steven Cummings of California Pacific Medical
Center Research Institute. "Until now, people have assumed Fosamax was
completely safe and could be given to almost anybody," Cummings said.Fosamax, the brand name for alendronate, is now used by an estimated 1.8
million American women. In a letter to the medical journal, Cummings
reported evidence of the heart problem found in a recent review of a 1997
Merck-sponsored study of postmenopausal women on Fosamax.There appeared to be 50% greater risk of the serious heart rhythm in women
who took the daily pill than among those who didn't take it. About half of
the 6,459 women took Fosamax, and 47 developed atrial fibrillation, compared
with just 31 cases among the other women.However, the finding, while not statistically definitive for Fosamax,
worried some researchers because it is in line with the results of a new
study published in the same issue of the medical journal.This study of 7,736 postmenopausal women with osteoporosis focused on
Reclast. Novartis recently won approval to sell Reclast, known generically
as zoledronic acid, for Paget's disease, another bone condition.The company hopes to get approval later this year to sell it for
osteoporosis use.The new study, funded by Novartis, shows that Reclast works at least as
well as existing drugs in the same class, researchers said.However, the risk of a serious case of irregular heart rhythm was more than
double that in the other patients ? 50 cases in the drug-taking half,
compared with 20 cases in the others.
poster:Phillipa
thread:931820
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/health/20081212/msgs/932416.html