Doctors are reporting increases in unusual bone fractures over the past 18 months in patients taking the Merck osteoporosis drug Fosamax (alendronate).
As pressure increases for the Merck or the FDA to act, doctors say they are seeing more patients coming to them with fractures that happen during normal daily activities, as Dr. Kenneth Egol, professor of orthopedic surgery at NYU Langone Medical Center explained to ABC News in a recent interview.
“We are seeing people just walking, walking down the steps, patients who are doing low-energy exercise,” said Dr. Ego. “Very unusual, the femur is one of the strongest bones in the body.”
“Over the last 18 months we are seeing this more frequently,” Dr. Ego said.
Doctors prescribe Fosamax to treat osteoporosis and osteopenia. The drug is supposed to strengthen bones to offset bone-weakening problems. Instead, the mounting evidence shows it can do exactly the opposite, causing serious injury.
Fosamax scrare strikes women with osteopenia ( ABC News)
Fosamax: Is long-term use of bone strengthening drug linked to fractures? (ABC News)
Will side-effect reports scare Fosamax patients? (ABC News)
The law firm of Aylstock, Witkin, Kreis & Overholtz (AWKO Law) is actively engaged in defective drug litigation. For more information about patients’ legal rights, Merck Fosamax patients and their families can contact the lawyers of AWKO Law at www.awkolaw.com (888-255-2956).