Bisphosphonates: Treat Osteoporosis and Cause Bone Density Increase
Your bones are alive, constantly replacing older bone with new ones via the process of remodeling. Bone remodeling involves two special cells to do the swap, osteoclasts detect and dissolve older bone tissue and osteoblasts creates new tissue to fill the holes.
Under healthy conditions, bone formation and breakdown is in balance. When an imbalance occurs, loss of bone density is the outcome. This density decrease often leads to:
Bisphosphonates are used to strengthen bone by increasing its density. They inhibit osteoclast’s activity, thus slowing down bone loss. And osteoblasts continue with their business as usual, thus causing a bone density increase.
Bisphosphonates are used to treat osteoporosis and bone densityissues related to:
- Paget’s disease
- multiple myeloma
- corticosteroid treatment
- metastatic breast cancer
Bisphosphonates do not treat osteoporosis and cause a bone density increase without potential side effects, including:
- gas
- rash
- hives
- itching
- nausea
- diarrhea
- bloating
- heartburn
- dizziness
- mild fever
- headache
- chest pain
- constipation
- gastric ulcer
- stomach pain
- taste changes
- uveitis ~ eye pain
- difficulty breathing
- esophageal irritation
- blisters, skin peeling
- painful, swollen gums
- joint, hand, leg swelling
- phlebitis ~ vein irritation
- bone, joint, muscle pain
- black, tarry, bloody stools
- painful, difficulty swallowing
- numbness, heavy feeling in jaw
- bloody, coffee ground looking vomit
- eye, face, lip, tongue, throat swelling
An additional concern relates to kidney function, bisphosphonates are potentially toxic. Also, there’s been rare incidences of osteonecrosis of the jaw with bisphosphonate treatment.
Inform your health care provider about any side effects you experience. However, contact them immediately with any chest pain, worsening heartburn or swallowing botheration increase.
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