Drug Cuts Risk of Osteoporosis From Prolonged Use of Steroids

An osteoporosis drug can ward off the bone deterioration that strikes about half the 1 million people who take steroids for extended periods to treat arthritis, asthma and other diseases. Steroid drugs can severely weaken bones over time.

Dr. Kenneth G. Saag of the University of Iowa College of Medicine and his colleagues gave alendronate (the trade name is Fosamax) to 318 steroid users and a placebo to 159. Bones of those receiving alendronate grew denser, they reported in today’s New England Journal of Medicine, while bone density decreased in those receiving a placebo. Alendronate users also had a 40% lower risk of fractures.

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Compiled by Times medical writer Thomas H. Maugh II.