Study Shows Women Prefer Once-Monthly Osteoporosis Medicine Over a Once-Weekly.A new study shows the majority of women with postmenopausal post·men·o·paus·al adj. Of or occurring in the time following menopause. postmenopausal Change of life Gynecology adjective Referring to the time in ♀ when menstrual periods stop for ≥ 1 yr osteoporosis osteoporosis (ŏs'tēō'pərō`sĭs), disorder in which the normal replenishment of old bone tissue is severely disrupted, resulting in weakened bones and increased risk of fracture; osteopenia prefer a once-monthly dosing regimen regimen /reg·i·men/ (rej´i-men) a strictly regulated scheme of diet, exercise, or other activity designed to achieve certain ends. reg·i·men n. 1. compared to a once-weekly. "In my practice, active women look for an osteoporosis medication that disrupts their routine less often -- one that fits their busy lifestyle," said Ronald Emkey, M.D., lead investigator of the study and medical director of Radiant radiant: see meteor shower. Research in Reading, Pa. "This makes a once-monthly regimen an important dosing option." The study was presented at the 27th Annual Meeting of the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research and included 342 women with postmenopausal osteoporosis who took once-monthly oral Boniva(R) (ibandronate sodium i·ban·dro·nate sodium n. A synthetic drug analog of pyrophosphate that inhibits bone resorption, taken monthly to treat osteoporosis in postmenopausal women. ) and once-weekly oral alendronate alendronate /alen·dro·nate/ (ah-len´dro-nat) a bisphosphonate calcium-regulating agent used in the form of the sodium salt to inhibit the resorption of bone in the treatment of osteitis deformans, osteoporosis, and hypercalcemia related (70 mg) each for three consecutive months. The efficacy of the two treatments was not assessed in the study. In March, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Boniva 150 mg as the first and only once-a-month prescription treatment for postmenopausal osteoporosis. Boniva is co-promoted by Roche and GlaxoSmithKline. Osteoporosis and low bone mass (osteopenia) are becoming more prevalent in the U.S. today, as the number of postmenopausal women continues to rise. In the U.S. today, 10 million individuals, eight million of whom are women, are estimated to already have osteoporosis, and almost 34 million more are estimated to have low bone mass, placing them at increased risk for the disease. By 2010, osteoporosis and low bone mass are expected to affect an estimated 52 million Americans age 50 and older. For the full story, go to http://www.medialinkfeatures.com/home.aspx?Story=31010 ABOUT MEDIALINK FEATURES: Medialink Features provides free, ready-to-run, non-copyrighted news features, fillers and photos to newspaper and online editors. To download copy and photos, please visit http://www.medialinkfeatures.com. NOTE TO EDITORS: All copy and photography is available for free and unrestricted use with Medialink Features (MF) dateline attribution at·tri·bu·tion n. 1. The act of attributing, especially the act of establishing a particular person as the creator of a work of art. 2. . |
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