Unregistered User If this is not your name, click here.
		Contact Us | Order Now | Journals | Bookstore | Register a colleague
	Select a ChannelAcneAIDS and HIVAllergy OtherAlzheimer'sAnaesthesiology OtherAngina Pectoris/MIAnxietyArthritis OtherAsthmaBack PainBacterial InfectionsBladder CancerBone Marrow TransplantationBreast CancerCardiology OtherCataractCell TransplantationCervical CancerCholesterol/Lipid disordersCirrhosisClinical PharmacologyColorectal CancerCongestive Heart FailureContact DermatitisContraceptionCOPDCystic FibrosisDental and Oral DisordersDepressionDermatology OtherDiabetesDialysisEating DisordersElbowEmergency MedicineEndocrinology OtherEpilepsyErectile DysfunctionFibromyalgiaGastro OtherGeneticsGenitourinary OtherGeriatricsGERD/GastritisGlaucomaH. Pylori/UlcerHaematology OtherHair LossHeadachesHepa/Biliary OtherHepatitisHipHRTHypertensionIBDImmunologyInfectious OtherInfertilityIntensive CareIrritable Bowel SyndromeKneeLeukemiasLiver CancerLung CancerLupusLymphomasMelanomaMenopauseMultiple Sclerosis Nephrology OtherNeurologic OtherNutritional / Metabolic OtherOb/Gyn OtherObesityOncology OtherOphth. OtherOphthalmic SurgeryOrgan TransplantationOrthopaedics OtherOsteoarthritisOsteoporosisOtitisOtorhino. OtherOvarian CancerPaediatricsPainPancreatic CancerParkinson'sPregnancyProstate CancerPsychiatry OtherPulmonary OtherRadiologyRenal CancerRenal FailureRespiratory InfectionsRheumatoid arthritisRheumatology OtherRhinitisSchizophreniaShoulderSleep ApnoeaSleep DisordersSpineStrokeSTDsSurgeryThyroid DisordersTransfusionTransplant Surgery OtherTraumaUrinary IncontinenceUrinary tract infectionsVaccinologyVascular DisordersViral Infections

SEARCH   News Bookstore Medline The Web Meetings & Congresses Complete Doctor's Guide    EXPLORE :    All News   All Webcasts   All Cases   All Meetings & Congresses   All Medical Resources New drugs / indications English Dictionary Medical Dictionary Thesaurus Warning | Privacy | Awards  Favourite Journals  Click here to choose your favourite journals  Favourite Sites  Click here to choose your favourite sites  Languages  Select languageEnglishFrançais

DG DISPATCH - WCO: Fosamax Can Be Taken Before Lunch or Dinner By W. A. Thomasson, PhD Special to DG News CHICAGO, IL -- June 19, 2000 -- Official dosing directions for Fosamax (alendronate sodium) require it to be taken a half-hour to an hour before breakfast, a regimen that many patients find extremely inconvenient. Data presented yesterday (June 18) at the World Congress on Osteoporosis, however, suggest this may not be necessary: Results showed that equivalent effects are obtained when the medication is taken an hour before lunch or dinner. Pierre Delmas, MD, of Claude Bernard University in Lyon, France, and colleagues enrolled 139 post-menopausal women with osteoporosis and randomly assigned them to 10 mg daily dose of Fosamax either half an hour before breakfast, one hour before lunch, or one hour before dinner. Those women taking the doses before lunch or dinner were required to take them at least four hours after their previous meal. Biochemical markers of bone turnover were measured at three months and at six months, with approximately the same decrease from baseline being seen in all three groups. The only statistically significant differences were seen in patients taking their dose before dinner, where there was a smaller decrease in one marker at three months and in another marker at six months. The decrease from baseline was statistically significant in all cases. Approximately 90 percent of the patients in each group were classified as responding to Fosamax. Critical data comparing effects on bone mineral density are not yet available, since they will be obtained at one-year follow-up. Fracture data will likewise require longer follow-up and perhaps a larger study. Nevertheless, the biochemical data encourage hope that patients may soon have a more convenient Fosamax dosing regimen available to them. Related Link: Fosamax (alendronate sodium). E-mail this page to a friend or colleague! To print, use this version