Researcher With Financial Interest In Bisphosphonates Verifies Increased Risk Of Atypical Femur Fractures With Bisphosphonates Like Fosamax, Reclast

A researcher with financial ties to a company that hopes to commercialize a bisphosphonate product (and to which he holds the patent) has confirmed that bisphosphonates like Fosamax and Reclast increase the risk of an atypical femur fracture. (what is a femoral shaft fracture?) Bisphosphonates are a class of osteoporosis drugs—including the very-popular drug Fosamax—that have been linked to increased risk of bone breaks like femur fractures as well as other potential Fosamax injuries.

The study, published on May 5, 2011 in the New England Journal of Medicine (“NEJM”), found that the increased risk of an “atypical” fracture in bisphosphonate-using women 55 and older was "higher with an increasing duration of bisphosphonate use, with an odds ratio of 1.3 . . . per 100 prescribed daily doses. This risk was approximately 10 times as high as a normal level of risk within the first 2 years of use and 50 times as high thereafter.”

Dr. Per Aspenberg and his associates conducted the study on 1,234 women 55 years and older who suffered from a femoral shaft fracture.

Dr. Aspenberg admitted in his disclosure form to the NEJM to “receiving consulting fees from [drug manufacturer] Eli Lilly and Amgen and grant support to his institution, Linköping University, from Eli Lilly and Amgen, as well as holding stock in AddBIO, a company trying to commercialize a method for bisphosphonate coating of implants to be inserted in bone, and holding a patent for this method.” Eli Lilly is not a current bisphosphonate manufacturer.

Common Bisphosphonates and their manufacturers include:

·       Fosamax (Merck & Company).

·       Boniva (Roche and GlaxoSmithKline) 

·       Actonel (Procter & Gamble Pharmaceuticals and Sanofi Pharmaceuticals).

·       Skelid (Sanofi Pharmaceuticals)

·       Didronel (Procter & Gamble Pharmaceuticals)

·       Reclast and Zometa (Novartis Pharmaceuticals)

The Spangenberg law firm has provided information on potential Fosamax lawsuits at www.my-fosamax-lawsuit.com. The website provides information on Fosamax femur fractures and other possibly Fosamax-related injuries. The Spangenberg law firm can also be reached at 1-877-696-3303.

Do Men Suffer From Fosamax-Related Injuries?

Men suffer from osteoporosis and were prescribed Fosamax, not just women.  In fact, as the International Osteoporosis Foundation lists the following statistics about men and osteoporosis:

•  About 20-25% of hip fractures occur in men. The overall mortality is about 20% in the first 12 months after hip fracture and is higher in men than women.
• It is estimated that the lifetime risk of experiencing an osteoporotic fracture in men over the age of 50 is 30%, similar to the lifetime risk of developing prostate cancer.
• Vertebral fractures may cause equal morbidity in men and women. Hip fractures in men cause significant morbidity and loss of normal functioning.
• Although the overall prevalence of fragility fractures is higher in women, men generally have higher rates of fracture related mortality.
• As in women, the mortality rate in men after hip fracture increases with age and is highest in the year after a fracture. Over the first 6 months, the mortality rate in men approximately doubled that in similarly aged women.
• Forearm fracture is an early and sensitive marker of male skeletal fragility. In aging men, wrist fractures carry a higher absolute risk for hip fracture than spinal fractures in comparison to women.
• In Sweden, osteoporotic fractures in men account for more hospital bed days than those due to prostate cancer.
• 30% of hip fractures and 20% of vertebral fractures occur in men.

Men can suffer Fosamax-related injuries just like post-menopausal women.  (In fact, it isn’t just post-menopausal women, either; some evidence suggests that Fosamax was prescribed increasingly as a preventative treatment for osteoporosis in pre-menopausal women, too.)

Fosamax injuries include femur, or thighbone, fractures, which can be devastating injuries for men and women.  Activities that might result in a Fosamax-related femur fracture include walking down steps, sitting or standing, and walking.  The FDA has reported on the alarming incidence of femur fractures for long-term Fosamax users.  

The Spangenberg law firm has provided information on potential Fosamax lawsuits at www.my-fosamax-lawsuit.com.  The website provides information on Fosamax femur fractures and other possibly Fosamax-related injuries.  The Spangenberg law firm can also be reached at 1-877-696-3303.  

Patients—men or women—suffering from this type of injury after taking Fosamax should consult with a Fosamax injury attorney soon to evaluate whether they have a Fosamax-related potential legal claim.  There may be a statute of limitations clock running, which limits the time period in which you can file a lawsuit.  

Learn more about the Fosamax statute of limitations.

How Do I Find a Fosamax Injury Attorney?

Get more information at www.my-fosamax-lawsuit.com

If you have taken Fosamax or its generic form Alendronate and believe you have been injured as a result, you may want to contact the Fosamax Injury Attorneys at Spangenberg Shibley & Liber now for a free, confidential case evaluation. 

Whether you've been injured by Fosamax Atypical Femur Fractures, Fosamax Esophageal (Throat) Cancer, Fosamax Osteonecrosis of the Jaw ("ONJ" or "dead jaw"), or Fosamax Heart Conditions like atrial fibrillation, Fosamax injury attorneys may be able to help you determine if you have a Fosamax lawsuit.  This process is confidential.  (Be sure to read the disclaimer for this blog for other important information.)

Remember, there is likely a Fosamax statute of limitations clock running that will prevent you from filing a Fosamax femur fracture lawsuit if you wait too long.  A  Fosamax injury attorney can help you determine what the time frame is, and help protect your right to fair compensation.

You can always seek other attorneys as well, and should always exercise common sense and diligence in making this critical decision.

Have you or a loved one been injured by Fosamax, or suspect you have?  Please leave a comment below to discuss, and contact a Fosamax injury attorney directly for legal advice.

How Does Fosamax Work?

Fosamax and other bisphosphonates work by interrupting the normal process of bone formation and degradation. Your body builds bone with one type of cell (osteoblasts), and takes bone away with another type of cell (osteoclasts). As people age, the re-absorption (or degradation) of the bones by osteoclasts can outpace the creation of bone by osteoblasts.  Severe bone loss is referred to as "osteoporosis."  That's what drugs like Fosamax were supposed to fight.

Fosamax (alendronate) stops the cells that take bone away, leading to an increase in total bone mass. But studies are showing that Fosamax patients’ bones are actually weaker, despite Fosamax making them denser. As ABC news reported, this can lead to devastating bone injuries like femoral fractures:

"We are seeing people just walking, walking down the steps, patients who are doing low-energy exercise,” said Dr. Kenneth Egol, professor of orthopedic surgery at NYU Langone Medical Center. “Very unusual, the femur is one of the strongest bones in the body."

Fosamax patients who have suffered these types of injuries are filing Fosamax femur fracture lawsuits.  Fosamax Injury Attorneys can help these people determine whether they have a valid Fosamax lawsuit or not.  If you or a loved one think you might have been injured by Fosamax, contact a Fosamax Injury Attorney for more information.

Please comment below, and sign up for blog updates by subscribing to our RSS feed or by email in the tab to the right.

What is A Femoral Fracture?

"Femoral" refers to the femur, or the thigh bone.  One of the strongest bones in the body, it usually requires a great deal of force in order to cause a femur fracture.  As the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons explain on their website:

To break the thighbone across its length (shaft) takes a great deal of force, as might occur in a motor vehicle accident or a fall from a high place. Because of this, a broken thighbone is often associated with potentially life-threatening injuries to other body systems.

Symptoms of a femoral fracture include severe pain,inability to move the leg, deformity, and swelling.  A broken femur can be life threatening.

As eMedicine explains:

The femur is the largest and strongest bone and has a good blood supply. Because of this and its protective surrounding muscle, the shaft requires a large amount of force to fracture. Once a fracture does occur, this same protective musculature usually is the cause of displacement, which commonly occurs with femoral shaft fractures.


As with many orthopedic injuries, neurovascular complications and pain management are the most significant issues in patients who come to the ED. The rich blood supply, when disrupted, can result in significant bleeding. Open fractures have added potential for infection.

While normally a large amount of force is required to break the bone, evidence suggests that patients taking the bisphosphonate Fosamax (R) can suffer abnormal, or "atypical" femur fractures.  These atypical femur fractures do not require much force, and otherwise healthy-seeming femurs break all too easily.

Learn more about Fosamax(R) and Fosamax Femur Fracture Lawsuits at our Fosamax Fracture Lawsuit website.

Have you or a loved one suffered from a femur fracture?  Please leave a comment and share your story below!