Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, May 3, 1990 TAG: 9005030479
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-10 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: BOSTON LENGTH: Short
Danish doctors who tested the medicine called etidronate found that while it halted loss of bone in the spine, it did not affect bones in other parts of the body.
An estimated 15 million to 20 million Americans have osteoporosis. The condition is blamed for 1.3 million fractures annually in people over age 45. It is especially common among older women, when their bodies make less estrogen after menopause.
The research, directed by Dr. Tommy Storm at Sundby Hospital in Copenhagen, was published in today's New England Journal of Medicine. It was financed by Procter & Gamble's Norwich Eaton Pharmaceuticals, which makes etidronate.
The doctors performed a three-year comparison study on 66 women age 56 to 75. When it was over, they found the vertebral bone mineral content of those who got the drug increased 7 percent as it decreased 3 percent in a comparison group who got dummy pills. The number of vertebral fractures also decreased substantially in the etidronate group.
"Although we do not know whether the dose and treatment regimen used in our study are optimal, our results are encouraging," the researchers wrote.
The medicine has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for treatment of Paget's disease of bone. - Associated Press
by CNB