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Long-Term Use of Alendronate Puts Some Patients at Risk for Fracture NEW YORK -- June 27, 2008 -- There is new evidence linking risk for one kind of femoral stress fracture with long-term use of bisphosphonates. The preliminary study followed 70 patients, 25 of whom were taking alendronate (Fosamax) for an average of 5 years. Among those receiving the therapy, 19 patients presented with 1 type of femoral stress fracture that resulted from little or no trauma. By comparison, the fracture type was only evident in 1 patient not receiving the therapy. Furthermore, the average duration of alendronate use in those patients with the fracture pattern was significantly longer than in those who were not taking the therapy, at 6.9 years versus 2.5 years, respectively. "While bisphosphonates like [alendronate] have been proven to successfully treat osteoporosis and other metabolic bone disease, we believe long-term use of these drugs may suppress the ability of bones to heal in some patients. As a consequence, patients with routine stress fractures are unable to properly heal, and minor damage can worsen until a serious fracture occurs," says the study's senior author, Dean G. Lorich, MD, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center, and the Hospital for Special Surgery, New York, New York. SOURCE: New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center E-mail this page to a friend or colleague! To print, use this version