Once-a-Year Injection to Replace Traditional Osteoporosis Drugs

Researchers at the University Clinic of Duesseldorf, Germany, announced the invention of a new treatment for osteoporosis patients. The research was done in a joint effort with effort with researchers from the 'Westdeutsches Osteoporosezentrum' at the 'Klinikum Leverkusen', Germany. The new treatment is in injection form and is only needed once a year. In the long run this treatment should replace the traditional drug treatments for osteoporosis.

Osteoporosis is a degenerative bone disease, where over time the bone density of a patient is slowly reduced. This results in an increased risk of bone fracture. In advanced stages of the disease simple daily movements can already lead to fractures. Some fractures can lead to the patient's death.

Post-menopausal women are in the highest risk group for developing the disease. Conventionally, treatment of the disease should begin before it even develops. Especially, women in their thirties are advised by their physicians to lead healthy lifestyles with a diet rich in calcium. Many women take a daily calcium supplement to meet the required goals for their calcium intake. Once the disease has been diagnosed, treatment with a regimen of drugs is started. This requires patients to take monthly, weekly, or daily medications, usually in tablet or capsule form. Unfortunately, patients tend to forget their medication and skip doses. Some cannot afford the expenses for a daily drug regimen. Furthermore, the side effects of this medication can be rather painful, with some patients experiencing stomach problems and damage to the esophagus.

The once a year treatment method is simple. However, the injection has to be given to the patient by a physician. Furthermore, because osteoporosis patients require regular check-ups anyway, the once a year injection treatment will just be part of a regular annual check-up. Unlike the traditional drug treatments, the patient will not have to remember to have the treatment done.

The new treatment remains effective for an entire year due to the intravenous injection into the bloodstream The medicine can be fully absorbed by the body through the bloodstream. About sixty percent of the medicine is directly passed on to the bones. With the traditional methods only about one percent of the medication is actually utilized by the body.

The researchers successfully tested the new treatment method in a three-year study involving 7,700 patients. The study proved the once a year injection reduced the incidents of bone fractures by seventy percent. The death rate was reduced by twenty-eight percent. Furthermore, all patients showed improvements in their bone density.