New Australian Study Supports An Apparent Association Between Long-Term Fosamax Use And Certain Types Of Femur Fractures

Researchers Find Increased Number Of Low-Energy Subtrochanteric Fractures For A Period Ten Years After Introduction Of Fosamax In That Country

(Posted by Tom Lamb at DrugInjuryWatch.com)

At the Orthopaedic Proceedings section of the Journal of Bone & Joint Surgery, British Volume, web site there is an item that presents some findings from a recent Australian study which supports the apparent link between Fosamax and atypical femur fractures.

This new Fosamax research item is "Femoral Insufficiency Fracture Associated With Prolonged Alendronate Therapy".  From the Abstract for this item we get these five key findings about femur fractures in long-term users of Fosamax:

1. Of the 41 patients with subtrochanteric insufficiency fracture, 40 (98%) had been taking [Fosamax (alendronate)] and one had been taking risedronate.
2. Twenty-nine of the 41 (71%) complained of prodromal pain in the affected femur.
3. The mean duration of [Fosamax (alendronate)] use in those with insufficiency fracture was 7.1 years.
4. This is the largest study in the literature on subtrochanteric insufficiency fractures and [Fosamax (alendronate)] therapy.
5. Confirming recent reports, [Fosamax (alendronate)] use was strongly suggestive of subtrochanteric insufficiency fracture.

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These Australian study findings seem consistent with two May 2012 Archives of Internal Medicine articles concerning a study out of Switzerland which found that the use of Fosamax as well as several other bisphosphonates seems to be associated with an increased risk of atypical fractures of the femur, which risk may be determined by the duration of Fosamax treatment. Those two medical journal articles are:

• "Increasing occurrence of atypical femoral fractures associated with bisphosphonate use"; and,
• "Atypical femoral fracture risk in patients treated with bisphosphonates".

To date, more than a thousand Fosamax - femur fracture lawsuits have been filed against Merck, and more such drug injury legal compensation case filings are expected in the months to come.

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