Category: Osteoporosis
Osteoporosis Drug Seems to Shrink Breast Tumors
Thursday, 11 December, 2008 22:11 Written by admin
Researchers continue to test the mettle of breakthrough breast cancer drugs, three decades after tamoxifen changed the medical landscape by drastically reducing the risk of recurrences in women with estrogen receptor-positive tumors.
Encouraging findings on several different drugs were presented Thursday at the CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium in Texas.
Arthroscopy surgery not the only answer for knees
Sunday, 21 September, 2008 02:04 Written by admin
The prognosis for people with knee osteoarthritis isn’t so bleak as it might seem in the wake of a study finding that arthroscopic surgery, once hailed as promising, may not be the best option.
That study, released in the Sept. 11 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, suggested that those who underwent the surgery didn’t fare any better in the long run than their counterparts who received physical therapy. During the surgery, small incisions are made through which a small camera and surgical instruments are inserted. Physicians can then repair or remove cartilage, or flush the knee to remove debris — or do both procedures.
The trick is to find one or more treatments — amid the array that includes medication and physical therapy — that can ease the pain of worn cartilage. It can take some work.
Osteoporosis-treating bisphosphonates linked to jawbone damage
Sunday, 21 September, 2008 01:59 Written by admin
Drugs to treat osteoporosis are not without possible side effects, most notably a widely publicized condition in which jawbone tissue dies.
Pun absolutely intended, Dr. Thomas B. Dodson explains, ” ‘Bisphosphonate-related osteonecrosis of the jaw’ is a mouthful.” His expertise is another mouthful — oral and maxillofacial surgery at Massachusetts General Hospital. He’s an expert on . . . let’s just call it BRONJ.
The problem has been linked to drugs called bisphosphonates, ranked 10th in U.S. sales among all drug categories, according to IMS Health, which analyzes pharmaceutical and healthcare markets. Most cases come after someone has been treated for cancer with potent, intravenous forms of the drugs. About 1 in 10 cancer patients treated with IV bisphosphonate develops the jaw problem.