NEW HOPE FOR PATIENTS WITH THE SEVEREST FORMS OF OSTEOPOROSIS

By Grattan Woodson, MD FACP

An exciting new treatment is now available for patients with severe osteoporosis that I think could be very important .   This new drug therapy, Forteo®, rebuilds the skeleton from the inside out.   Forteo® is the first true bone building drug therapy.  This differs from our other drug treatments like Fosamax®, Actonel®, and Miacalcin®.  These traditional therapies are best described as bone healing and preserving drugs. 

There is no question that these bone preserving drugs have helped many women with this disease.  I continue to have confidence in these drugs and prescribe them for my patients every day.  However, they have their limitations.  Their role in osteoporosis is to prevent further bone deterioration not to form any new bone.  Yes, they do increase bone density and that is a sign that they are working.  However, this bone density change is due to the healing of holes in the bone caused by osteoporosis not to adding new bone tissue.   

Forteo® is truly different from past therapy in several important ways.  First, its action is unique in that it triggers new bone growth.  Under the influence of Forteo®, the bone forming cells increase in number and activity.  Then they go to work immediately repairing the osteoporosis ravaged bone structures.  This results in an increase in bone density and a decrease in fracture risk that is 50% higher than seen with the best bone preserving drugs.  Below is an enlarged picture of a small piece of bone taken from the pelvis of a patient with severe osteoporosis and vertebral fractures before and after treatment with Forteo®.  It is easy to see from this picture that the treatment with Forteo® has lead to significant new bone growth in this patient.  Almost every patient in the Forteo® study treated with this new agent had similar benefits.  For patients that would like to find out more about this treatment, consult you primary care physician or call us at the Osteoporosis Center of Atlanta for a consultation (404) 298-9951.