Merck's new osteoporosis medication shows promise in mid trial results

• By Little-Sparrow
• Reply 3455504
• October 13, 2012 at 2:18 pm
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Yes, I was reading about this a few weeks ago. I believe that they are now into Stage III testing or ready to begin Stage III. Whether it will be this medication, or another medication ... or yet another medication after that ... one day ... the word osteoporosis will be a thing of the past. One day.

• By spunkyblondie (Inactive)
• Reply 3457307
• October 14, 2012 at 11:34 am
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You take it first and let us know how you do. I'm going the natural route and getting my nutrients from the supplements and food. Btw, it will probably take years to know of all the side effects... Which may end up being worse than the disease.

Lara Pizzorno, who wrote YOUR BONES discussed the COMB study where fish oil and other supplements were just as successful as chemicals.

• By ScottsIrishGreenEyes
• Reply 3457575
• October 14, 2012 at 1:31 pm
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I read about this today. It is always good to have more options. When what we are using stops working having other options is a good thing !!!

I get updates on yahoo about osteoporosis.

• By Little-Sparrow
• Reply 3458341 · In reply to 3457307 by spunkyblondie
• October 14, 2012 at 7:49 pm
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Quote from Spunkyblondie: "Btw, it will probably take years to know of all the side effects... Which may end up being worse than the disease."

Sheesh ... don't be such a downer. I had to read your post 3 times to make certain that I was reading it correctly. LOL

This is an uplifting thread about Merck's new osteoporosis medication showing promise. It gives women like me hope for the future.

Ongoing research into new medications for osteoporosis is a good thing. Nobody will force you to take it or any other medication so quit it with the depressing talk.

Honestly, when I read your posts, I feel like you are an employee of someone by the name of "Lara Pizzorno". I certainly hope that I'm wrong about this. Just telling you how it appears.

• By spunkyblondie (Inactive)
• Reply 3458455
• October 14, 2012 at 8:33 pm
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According to Mercola, deaths from prescriptions outnumber death caused by illegal drugs. Read that 3 times to make sure you read it correctly.

I'm not being a downer. I'm just stating the facts. To take a drug that is brand new on the market is a gamble, IMO.

Lara Pizzorno's book tells us how to treat osteoporosis naturally. If you refuse bisphosphonates, you are on your own. And that is what I've done, I've refused them. Doctors do not have a "plan b".

• By spunkyblondie (Inactive)
• Reply 3458565
• October 14, 2012 at 9:26 pm
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In the case of Reclast, IMO, the potential side effects are worse than the disease of Osteoporosis!

• By lilypads
• Reply 3458785
• October 14, 2012 at 11:32 pm
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Little-Sparrow,

You may not remember when Lara Pizzorno was regularly spending many hours a day answering questions on this site. She is a medical writer with a family history of severe osteoporosis who reversed her own early osteopenia and wrote "Your Bones," a very helpful book. If you would like to read some of her comments, you can find them here:

http://www.inspire.com/groups/national-osteoporosis-foundation/discussion/n ew-book-just-out-a-lot-of-good-info/?page=8

and here: http://www.inspire.com/groups/national-osteoporosis-foundation/discussion/p art-2-your-bones-by-lara-pizzorno-and-dr-jonathan-v-wright/

and here: http://www.inspire.com/groups/national-osteoporosis-foundation/discussion/s trontium-scare-tactics-addressed-by-lara-pizzorno/

I am very grateful to have had the opportunity to meet her on this site, and have bought 4 copies of her book--one for myself and three for family members. I recommend it highly.

There's no reason to think that nutrition will ever "stop working." It's been working for millenia.

• By SaraD
• Reply 3458845
• October 15, 2012 at 12:18 am
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I have a basic distrust of big Pharmaceutical houses that make their decisions based on return on their investment and concern for their share holders rather than women and men who relied on their formulations. To my sorrow I believed Merck's hype about Fosamax and bisphosphonate drugs and ended up with two vertebral fractures.

An excellent article has now been published that we all need to read before climbing on the latest marketing band wagon put out by Merck. http://www.opednews.com/articles/Shameless-Drug-Company-Sti-by-Martha-Rosen berg-121013-949.html.

Lara Pizzorno is a careful medical research writer. I value her work and integrity. Drug Detail (sales) people do not like her work because it challenges pharmaceutical marketing techniques.

Earlier this month I posted the third of my case study reports on this website:

Strontium, Vitamin K2 and Osteoporosis: Case Study III (Sara DeHart, MSN ,PhD)

Both Ms. Pizzorno and I advocate a balanced approach to treating osteoporosis. A pill or IV will not do the job and may cause grave consequences.

• By sadgirl
• Reply 3459229
• October 15, 2012 at 8:00 am
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thanks little sparrow and scottishirishgreeneyes for your positive posts and hope for other medicinal options.........many, many, many of us feel the same way.......

• By elise52
• Reply 3459660
• October 15, 2012 at 10:46 am
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I agree that more options is a good thing too. I have many many years to go with this, and my scores are in the 1/1000 probability range for my age. So, coming up with a plan for now, and hope that if it needs tweaking later, there might be another approach, is good in my mind. Whether or not I would take a brand new drug is something I can't decide now, because it's hypothetical and I'm not there yet. BUT having that in the back of my mind helps me to keep a plan B or plan C as options. I'm doing as many of the lifestyle and natural things as I can, as well as a short time on a medication that I feel is the best one for right now. For me, that's positively my choice and I feel contented in it for now. I've had lots of things happen to me in my life so far, and I was devastated to get this diagnosis. I can't deal with it unless I have hope. Not to say it's placed solely in one camp or another though. I can appreciate distrust in a system, and am able to see where we do have to be cautious about what we embrace. But, that doesn't mean all drugs are bad. I would never consider taking the risk of taking a drug that had a greater risk of harm than good. I took Viox for a shoulder tear before it was taken off the market. And it really did give me the best pain relief of a non-narcotic, but would not have continued taking it! I've refused prescriptions for some things, as the risks or side effects were worse than what I was willing to expose myself to. Everyone's situation is so unique. Its not a one size fits all issue. I can see the big business vs. Safety issue and wouldn't blindly step into a decision without keeping that in mind. I feel that having a venue like this website us a good way to read and listen and then make our own decisions.

• By elise52
• Reply 3459720 · In reply to 3458455 by spunkyblondie
• October 15, 2012 at 11:04 am
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" deaths from prescriptions outnumber death caused by illegal drugs. Read that 3 times to make sure you read it correctly. "
While I'm sure this is absolutely true, its just the kind of claim that challenges one to think more critically about poorly reported research. I instantly have many questions when I read a claim like this. Were all those prescriptions taken properly? What percentage reflects narcotics versus non narcotics? How did the researchers control for deaths that were likely to have occurred anyway? Was this statistically evaluated or not? And I could go on, but I think I've made my point. I like that people on here do read research and don't simply rely on media reports about medical research. That's a whole other issue! Anyway, that's what the quote above made me think about.

• By chalk
• Reply 3459750
• October 15, 2012 at 11:16 am
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Hey guys, remember we are being positive and supportive not only about those "natural" ways to improve bone -- which dont work for everyone- as well as about new and old meds, which also may not work for everyone. Some of us need meds or a bigger lift than we can get with the major big business of supplements. Unless we are going wholly the food route, we are participating in big business, whether its pharmaceuticals or supplements ( also a billion $ unregulated business), have no illusions.

• By Little-Sparrow
• Reply 3460037 · In reply to 3459720 by elise52
• October 15, 2012 at 12:59 pm
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Elise52, don't even spend one more second of your time thinking about that "statement" and what the intended implications by the author were. It's really not even about this so called "research". It's more about the intended reaction that the author of the post wanted to achieve. She failed. So, let's move on to more intelligent conversation about new osteoporosis medications, and how one day we may be able to beat this battle with osteoporosis so that our children's children's children will never even have to think twice about it. :) Note: I don't have any children, but I mean "figuratively speaking". :)

• By ScottsIrishGreenEyes
• Reply 3460041
• October 15, 2012 at 1:00 pm
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I feel encouraged by any new reasearch that I read. It may be about foods like prunes or vitamin C. It may be about types of exercises that will improve bone density. It may be about new meds or old meds.

WHEN you have severe osteoporosis and you are 45 and you are having problems moving your numbers in the good direction, you will read it all and consider it all. I have read Lara Pizzorno's book and I have looked at Dr. Susan Brown's website and several others. There is no panacea.

You can eat the best plant based diet and do all the right exercises and take your calcium and Vitamin D and take your meds and still have problems. We are all well aware of the natural options thanks to this website but we also should feel free to talk about medicines that may help some us.

I am not one of those people who has to wonder are my bones weak. I small tomato can broke my rib in the grocery store when it fell off the shelf. This is a reality for me and for many others. We need to talk about all of our options freely without feeling pressure. I enjoy reading about everyone's successes with vitamins or foods or even meds.

• By Little-Sparrow
• Reply 3460050 · In reply to 3459750 by chalk
• October 15, 2012 at 1:02 pm
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Chalk ... ditto to what you have said. You go girl! :)

• By Little-Sparrow
• Reply 3460107 · In reply to 3460041 by ScottsIrishGreenEyes
• October 15, 2012 at 1:18 pm
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"I feel encouraged by any new reasearch that I read. It may be about foods like prunes or vitamin C. It may be about types of exercises that will improve bone density. It may be about new meds or old meds."

Absolutely ScottsIrishGreenEyes! Me too! I might add that I am not one to criticize others for doing what they need to do in order to have as happy and as healthy a life that they can .... whether that be taking neutraceuticals, pharmaceuticals, or a combination thereof.

"Some forum members" think that it is perfectly acceptible to criticize people's treatment plans if they are different than what their own treatment plans are ... even to the point of bullying. Incredible. It stuns me every time that I see it happen on this forum.

• By SaraD
• Reply 3460258
• October 15, 2012 at 2:09 pm
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Quoting Martha Rosenberg:

http://www.alternet.org/speakeasy/martharosenberg/shameless-drug-company-st ill-cashes-bone-market?page=entire%2C1
Shameless Drug Company Still Cashes in on Bone Market

It should be embarrassing to the medical establishment that a prominent drug company and the FDA "discovered" severe side effects after years of patient use and that bone scans are still merchandised though they are of no value to 90 percent of women, according to the New England Journal of Medicine . It should be further embarrassing that Merck was allowed to make $3 billion a year off a drug that many say would not have been approved had clinical trials lasted longer. Its patent expired in 2008.

Now Merck is about to launch a new drug for osteoporosis called Odanacatib which has already intrigued the money men on Wall Street. "Odanacatib may be a viable alternative for patients who need continued therapy and who want benefits beyond what they received from bisphosphonates," a senior Merck research executive told Reuters without a hint of irony.

• By Little-Sparrow
• Reply 3460304 · In reply to 3460258 by SaraD
• October 15, 2012 at 2:28 pm
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Oh. Alternet.org. Hmmm. That's where I get all of my reliable information from too. I'm surprised that I missed this article SaraD. Gee. Thanks.

• By SaraD
• Reply 3460322
• October 15, 2012 at 2:36 pm
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I tend not to get personal about those who post on this website but perhaps some would benefit from reading the New England Journal of Medicine that is cited in Martha Rosenberg's article.

See the NEJM report on bone mineral density reports:

http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa1107142#t=articleTop

• By Little-Sparrow
• Reply 3460340 · In reply to 3460322 by SaraD
• October 15, 2012 at 2:45 pm
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Thanks SaraD. In fact, I think that I'll cancel my Prolia injection.