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EMBARGOED FOR RELEASE UNTIL 12:30 P.M. (CDT) ON SEPTEMBER 23, 2005

EARLY OSTEOPOROSIS TREATMENT REDUCED FRACTURE RISK ALMOST 50 PERCENT

Nashville (Sept. 23, 2005) – Rapid and effective treatments for patients who suffer spinal fragility fractures may cause a significant reduction of subsequent fracture risk. As demonstrated in previous studies, women who experience fragility fractures face a significantly increased risk of future bone fractures. (A serious sign of osteoporosis, fragility fractures result from a fall from a standing height or lower, or occur in the absence of obvious trauma.) Research presented at the 27th Annual Meeting of the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research (ASBMR) indicates that women 45 years and older who received early treatment for spinal fragility fractures reduced their risk of subsequent fracture by 49 percent over the next year.

A research team led by Natalie N. Borisov, Ph.D., at Procter and Gamble Pharmaceuticals in Mason, OH, and Robert Lindsay, M.D., Ph.D., at Helen Hayes Hospital in West Haverstraw, NY, analyzed data on 7,233 women over 45 who had been diagnosed with spinal fractures by physicians. Eighty percent of the women received no osteoporosis treatment following their fractures; 15 percent received early treatment (within 90 days); and five percent received treatment after 90 days.

Eighteen percent of the untreated women suffered another fracture within one year vs. only eight percent of those treated within 90 days. Initiation of treatment after 90 days did not decrease the risk of future fracture within one year after spinal fragility fracture. Among those patients treated early, risedronate (Actonel, manufacturer: Procter and Gamble) reduced fractures by 70 percent compared with the no treatment group; alendronate (Fosamax, manufacturer: Merck) reduced fractures by 53 percent; and nasal calcitonin (Miacalcin, manufacturer: Novartis) reduced fractures by 33%.

According to President-Elect Elizabeth Shane, M.D., “This study highlights two very important issues. First, although clinical vertebral fractures are painful and widely acknowledged to have adverse effects on mortality and quality of life, a shocking 80 percent of women in ‘the real world’ did not receive any therapy for osteoporosis after they had suffered a vertebral (spine) fracture. This was true despite the widespread availability of several drugs that have been shown in other studies to reduce fractures. Second, initiating treatment within the first three months after a fracture helps prevent other fractures, while delaying therapy did not. We must develop treatment programs that target women (and men) with osteoporotic fractures for early intervention to prevent the downward spiral of pain and disability associated with osteoporosis.”

Disclosure: The study discussed in this press release was funded by Procter and Gamble Pharmaceuticals. Dr. Borisov is a Procter and Gamble employee holding Procter and Gamble stock, options or bonds.

To obtain a copy of the scientific abstract, contact Ms. Melissa Haynes (contact information above).

The ASBMR Annual Meeting is the preeminent international scientific meeting on bone and mineral research. More than 5,300 medical professionals and scientists from around the world are expected to attend the September 23-27, 2005, meeting in Nashville, where more than 1,900 research abstracts will be presented. The ASBMR is the foremost professional, scientific and medical society for the promotion of bone and mineral research and the translation of that research into clinical practice. To learn more, visit the ASBMR website at www.asbmr.org.

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