Update: Thighbone fractures in women taking bisphosphonate drugs
Bisphosphonates are the class of drugs most frequently prescribed for strengthening bone and reducing fractures; they are FDA-approved for the prevention and treatment of osteoporosis. In November 2008, we first addressed the issue of atypical fractures linked to bisphosphonate use, after the publication of a number of case reports describing low-energy fractures across the femur (thighbone) in postmenopausal women taking alendronate (Fosamax, generic) for five or more years. (Low-energy fractures are caused by falls from no more than standing height.)
Since then, more case reports have appeared, including several involving long-term alendronate takers who developed low-energy fractures in both femurs. All were subtrochanteric fractures, that is, they occurred in the femoral shaft below the lesser trochanter (see the illustration). Other common features included pain or weakness in the affected thigh for weeks to months before the break, thickening of the cortical bone (the outer layer of bone) at the fracture site, and evidence of a stress fracture preceding the break — or in the opposite thighbone.
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