Skip to main content RSS Info Close Search Facebook Twitter
Location
Category
Providers / Vacancies
Feedback

Giving bones a break

A once-a-year injection of a new drug could substantially lower the risk of repeating a fracture after an initial hip fracture.

In an international study, 2,100 patients who had broken a hip were given an annual 15-minute infusion of either the osteoporosis drug Reclast or a placebo.

During the five years of monitoring, those taking the drug were 35% less likely to break another bone, according to a report in the New England Journal of Medicine.

The data “are very, very good in terms of both fracture reduction and effects on bone density,” says Stephen Honig, MD, director of the Osteoporosis Center of the New York University Hospital for Joint Diseases.

The latest study didn’t reveal any safety issues for Reclast, which was approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in August, however the FDA plans to review Reclast and other osteoporosis drugs, including Actonel, Boniva and Fosamax, for possible links to irregular heartbeat.

Reclast costs about $1,000 per dose in the US.

Share this article

Read next

Subscribe

Subscribe to our Talking Aged Care newsletter to get our latest articles, delivered straight to your inbox
  1. Eighty years after getting married, this couple lives together...
  2. Who says your age should limit your dreams?
  3. Data from a recently released report highlights a concerning...
  4. With an ageing and growing population, data from the...
  5. Approximately 411,000 Australians are estimated to be living...
  6. How could you benefit from attending university as an older...

Recent articles

  1. What is a lesser known impact of hearing loss for older...
  2. Are there options for older Australians to live in the same...
  3. The new initiative brings older Aussies together to see the...
  4. A collaboration between Dementia Australia and VistaPrint...
  5. How can you look after yourself during the expected heatwaves...
  6. How is an interactive app being used in aged care settings to...
  7. How could the upcoming strengthening of super standards save...
  8. Brother Thomas Oliver Pickett, a Western Australian volunteer,...
  9. Why is an illegal website targeting older Australians?
  10. Eighty years after getting married, this couple lives together...
  11. How does heart health impact your risk of dementia?
  12. Instead of going to the hospital, could older Australians...
  1. {{ result.posted_at | timeago }}

Sorry, no results were found
Perhaps you misspelled your search query, or need to try using broader search terms.
Please type a topic to search
Some frequently searched topics are "dementia", "elderly" etc
Close