Merck drug ‘prevents arthritic bone loss’

Merck has announced that its drug Fossamax can be used to prevent bone loss for people suffering from arthritis.

The company states the drug is better at preventing bone deterioration than vitamin D for arthritic sufferers using steroids. It cites research that the drug increases spinal bone density more than two per cent in a sample study of 100 volunteers who were administered the drug in an 18-month period.

This compares with volunteers treated with a form of vitamin D called alfacalcidol, who saw their bone density decrease by around two per cent in the same period. Reuters states that researchers at the University Medical Centre Utrecht observed a similar trend in other bones during the study.

Despite the new results and continuous healthy sales, Fossamax has been the subject of controversy due to links with jaw bone death. OpEdnews.com reports that patients treated with intravenous bisphosphonates have previously experienced “painful bone exposure” and have been “unresponsive to surgical or medical treatments”.

The site reports that there has been no decrease in the number of doctors prescribing the drug, despite the fact that the FDA has issued warnings to physicians about it.

Dallas News further reports that bisphosphonates can cause side effects such as nausea or damage to the oesophagus.

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