Fosamax May Damage Liver

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Fosamax May Damage Liver

 

 

 

http://www.mercola.com/2000/aug/20/fosamax_liver.htm

 

 

 

 

 

Doctors from Israel describe a

71-year-old woman who developed liver damage 2 months after starting

Fosamax, the popular bone-resorption inhibitor, used in the prevention

and treatment of osteoporosis and they feel strongly that the drug was

the cause or a major contributing factor.

Some of the known side effects of Fosamax

are gastric and esophageal inflammation, but renal failure, ocular

damage, skin reactions, and hypocalcemia have also been reported.

A case of hepatitis that developed after

treatment with alendronate was recently reported in a 77-year-old

woman.

The authors admit that the mechanism by

which alendronate may cause liver damage is not known, although one

possibility is that the fosomax inhibits the synthesis of cholesterol

in the liver, which may alter liver function.

Regardless of the mechanism, physicians

treating patients with a fosamax or related drugs should be alert to

the possibility of liver dysfunction and monitor properly for it.

The New England Journal of Medicine

August 3, 2000;343:365-366.

 

COMMENT:

Although this is only a case report

and it is likely that the 71 year old woman was highly compromised from

other factors, it does illustrate the fact that Fosamax is NOT

something that should be used. The report does maintain validity though

because the target market for this drug really is 50-70 year old women.

 

Bone building is a fine balance of a

number of factors. Fosamax is very similar to estrogen's mode of

action. Estrogen inhibits osteoclasts while Fosamax actually KILLS

them. Osteoclasts cells in the bone that actually remove the bone so it

can be rebuilt. If these cells are damaged the bone gets much denser.

The fallacy in medical thinking though is that a denser bone is a

stronger bone.

This is just not true. Even though the

bones are denser they are actually weaker because they have not been

allowed to remold themselves and readjust to the constantly changing

forces that are applied to bones. This will actually increase the risk

of fracture over time.

NATURAL Progesterone is normally

required to stimulate the osteoblasts or the bone rebuilding cells. The

synthetic version, or Provera, does not provide this benefit.

I had previously recommended the cream

version of natural progesterone but for most people I cannot

recommend this approach any more, as it will in some people cause

abnormally high levels of progesterone in the body that actually cause

a reverse effect and stop it from working at all.

The optimal solution is to normalize

the adrenal glands through a variety of techniques. If a woman still

has ovaries they can normally be encouraged to produce appropriate

amounts of estrogens and progesterone to build strong bones.

The important tools for normalizing

the adrenal glands include an optimal diet,

getting to bed by 10 PM and a mechanism for coping with the stress in

one's life. Salivary

hormone testing is a useful tool to monitor the effectiveness of

the interventions.

Exercise

and large

amounts of vegetables are likely to be more important the mineral

replacements. Most people automatically assume that calcium is the most

important factor to address bone density. I have seen a large number of

women consuming calcium supplements that did not have good bone density

as these other issues were not addressed.

Vitamin D is also essential to the

formation of strong bones. There is an article that will likely go in

next week's newsletter that provides some interesting conjecture that

vitamin D should not even really be called a vitamin but is more

appropriately identified as a precursor to a steroid hormone. A good

mineral replacement however is probably wise.

Magnesium, manganese, zinc, silicon

and boron are also important nutrients that should be in the supplement.

If you do decide to take Fosamax, be

sure to ask your doctor to check your liver function at regular

intervals.

Related

Articles:

 

Bone

Loss Drug Usually Does Not Work

DOES FOSAMAX

(ALENDRONATE) PREVENT BONE LOSS?

Preventing

Steroid-Induced Osteoporosis

 

Return To Table of

Contents Issue #167

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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