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HOUSTON BUSINESS REVIEW

Health Tip: Bisphosphonates for osteoporosis: A life-long treatment
By Mike Alexander Sr.

Mike is involved with several organizations including the National Association of Health Underwriters, Independent Insurance Agents Association, East End Chamber of Commerce, Better Business Bureau and the National Association of Small Business Owners, to name a few. Mike is a licensed Risk Manager and highly regarded in the insurance industry.

For more information on ABM and Mike Alexander, visit their site here.

As an insurance executive one of my biggest goals is to keep people healthy. That's great for the client, my companies, and for the economy in general. With that, I'm continuously looking for quality information that you can use in order to stay healthy.

The use of bisphosphonates (Fosamax, Boniva, Actonel, etc.) has revolutionized the treatment of osteoporosis. This class of drugs slows the natural process that dissolves bone tissue, resulting in maintained bone density and strength. Fosamax has been found to cut the risk of osteoporosis-related fractures in half, but there is a downside to the use of these medications also. In addition to their expense, bisphosphonates are associated with a number of side effects including heartburn, headache and constipation. Additionally, a very serious problem involving death of an area of bone in the jaw (osteonecrosis), has been associated with the use of these drugs. Currently there are no practice guidelines establishing the optimal length of treatment and experts tend to disagree about when or if to stop bisphosphonates.

Fortunately, work is being done to address these issues. In the Fracture Intervention Trial, women who had taken ....Click here to sign up to eDocAmerica and read more of this article.