A new drug could soon be available over the next few years that has showed promising results during clinical trials. Choosing medication means we also have to consider the side effects of medicines, which may be enough to put us off taking them. Although, when they can help to reverse wellness issues that could have fatal results, it’s worth chatting with our GPs to find out if the medicine would suit us.
Can we reverse bone loss?
Many of us are only diagnosed with brittle bone conditions when our bone mineral density (BMD) is so low that we break bones from a simple slip or trip. This means that medical experts across the world try and prevent us getting to this point. Bolstering our bank of BMD when we’re young is very important, because we rely on these bone cells to last throughout our life. Eating the right balance of calcium, Vitamin K and D, in addition to exercising makes our skeleton strong so it can better withstand bone loss that occurs naturally through the ageing process. But that doesn’t mean prevention is our only cure, in fact there are several drugs available that can stimulate the growth of new cells.
New developments
Drug manufacturer Merck recently revealed how its new medicine odanacatib helps increase our BMD. It does this by inhibiting an enzyme that leads to bone erosion. The medicine was proving so efficient that the company was told it could discontinue clinical trials of the drug, but it carried on with them to collect more data. The firm explains that it will begin the approval process for the medicine in 2014.
It’s always important to talk with our GPs about side effects of all medicines we need. Some osteoporosis medicines have been linked with cancer for example, although not all experts support these claims. Some industry experts in the drugs field suggest that side effects of odanacatib may be causing the delay in Merck putting it forward for approval – which has resulted in a drop in company share prices. But our doctors can go over this kind of information if we have fears about taking it in the future.
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