No Clear Winner among Osteoporosis Drugs

Osteoporosis drugs do reduce the risk of fractures. But there’s no evidence that one drug is clearly better than others, an evidence review concludes. Osteoporosis causes bones to become thin and brittle. They are more likely to get broken. This condition is most common in older women. The pills prescribed most often are bisphosphonates. They include Actonel (risedronate), Boniva (ibandronate), Fosamax (alendronate) and others. Denosumab (Prolia) and teriparatide (Forteo) are given as injections. The new study combined results from 294 prior studies. These studies compared osteoporosis drugs to placebo. The new analysis found that various drugs cut the risk of a spine fracture by 40% to 60%. They lowered the risk of hip and other fractures by 60% to 80%. There were few studies comparing drugs to each other. However, raloxifene (Evista) appeared to prevent only spine fractures.