What Is Paget’s Disease And Why Is Fosamax The Treatment?

With the controversies of Fosamax still ringing in the ears of many, more people, even men are filing Fosamax femur fracture lawsuits. This medication is said to cause several adverse effects after a long-term use. The widely known osteoporosis medication is also approved by the Food and Drug Administration to treat this often overlooked bone disorder known as Paget’s disease.

Our bones go through a life-long process where mature bone tissues breakdown and are replaced with new bone tissues. With Paget’s disease of the bone, the breakdown and remodeling of the bone tissues becomes too excessive. The result of the process is misshapen, exaggerated but brittle and highly vascular bones.

Although the cause of Paget’s disease is unknown it is believed that it might be linked to the genetic composition or a viral infection in early life. The disease may only be in one or two areas of the skeleton, or throughout the body. The bones of the arm, the collar, the leg, the pelvis and the spine are the areas usually affected with the disease.

Most of the time, patients with Paget’s disease have mild or no symptoms at all. Often, symptoms are attributed with arthritis or other disorders. Symptoms may include:

• Bone pain – the most common symptom and usually occurs on the affected bone or the areas adjacent to the joints
• Enlarged head, headache and hearing loss especially if the skull is affected
• Bowing of the legs and other visible deformities
• Fracture especially on the long bones
• Joint pain or stiffness
• Neck pain
• Warmth of skin over the affected bone

Some cases do not need treatment. Most patients that are treated, however, are given drug therapy to help prevent further bone breakdown. Biphosphonates like Fosamax are presently the first-line of defense to help improve bone mineral density.

When treatment is given before major changes in the affected bones have occurred, the outlook is generally good. Possible complications of the disorder include bone deformities and fractures, deafness, paraplegia (paralysis of the lower extremities), and in rare occasions, a form of bone cancer known as osteogenic osteogenic sarcoma.

Fosamax is the drug of choice for Paget’s disease. Nonetheless, this drug should only be taken with your physician’s order to avoid any adverse events. Furthermore, if you suffered any harm due to long-term consumption of Fosamax, you may have a strong ground for filing a Fosamax lawsuit.

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Bad Effect Of Smoking Include Susceptibility To Bone Fracture

Bone fracture occurs when an extreme outside force applied to the bone exceeds the bone's capacity to sustain such a force. There are various factors which has been linked to an increased risk for bone breakage which has been studied and researched for ages. These factors may vary among distinct populations and under certain conditions that is why for more information regarding health issues afflicting you or your loved one, the best source of information is still a licensed and efficient physician. Nevertheless, one of the factors that increases the risk for bone fracture that has been an unhealthy fad popularized by the media and peer pressure is: cigarette smoking.

The youth are easily influenced by what the adults do, that is why it is important to start engraving into their minds that the bad habit of smoking cigarettes practiced by the older people should not be followed. Fracture is a common incident among old people because their bones are not as strong as they used to. The non-modifiable factors of bone breakage are: family history, genetics, culture, bone degenerating disease process such as osteoporosis, age, and sex.  Changes in lifestyle, smoking habits, alcohol intake, stress, bisphosphonate and glucocorticoid drug intake, diet, weight are some of the noted dependent factors for fracture susceptibility.

It has been a long time since precautions regarding smoking's bad effects to the body was first released to the public. Bone's calcium absorption is impaired by cigarette smoking. Calcium is a vital mineral stored and utilized by the bone. As expected, if the bone cannot absorb enough calcium, its bone mineral density is diminished. This is the reason why smoking is bad because it impairs our bones strength.

Easily fractured bones are also seen in most of the osteoporosis patients. There is a bisphosphonate drug usually prescribed by doctors which is Fosamax. Still, reports were received professing about the drugs bad effects to those who were using the drug for a long time. If you or your loved one suffered from atypical, low-impact femur fracture, you can talk to a reliable Fosamax lawyer who will guide you in filing a Fosamax Fracture Lawsuit for you and your family to gain just compensation.

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Osteoporosis Treatments: The Good and Bad

Osteoporosis is a bone disease marked with a deteriorating bone complex leading to a decrease in bone mineral density (BMD) of about 2.5 standards deviation DXA which causes the “porous” characteristic of the bone. The bone becomes brittle and is highly susceptible to fracture. Postmenopausal osteoporosis is commonly seen in aging, menopausal women, but men reaching the age of 75 sometimes get senile osteoporosis too. The combined aging population of osteoporosis-susceptible individuals is alarming, but the increased risk for bone fractures, a marked feature in osteoporosis, gave this disease a more sinister touch. Treatments for osteoporosis involve a combination of lifestyle changes and medication.

Lifestyle changes includes exercise, proper diet of green, leafy vegetables, and prevention of fracture occurrence. Weight-bearing exercises such as walking flights of stairs frequently may help strengthen the bones. Some simple exercise such as squatting can also do the trick, as a prevention and as a strengthening regimen. Diet high in calcium and vitamin D, along with calcium and vitamin D supplements, may also prevent osteoporosis and also treat it if prevention was not done. Calcium is known for its bone healing, bone strengthening and bone formation qualities. Vitamin D, on the other hand, may come in supplement form, but the increased risk in kidney stone formation may opt you to take vitamin way the natural way: that is, by basking in the mild sunlight of early morning until 8-9 am. Vitamin D has shown to decrease risk of bone fractures in aging people who has osteoporosis by increasing about 1% of their bone density. Another vitamin showing promise for bone strengthen and decreasing risk for fracture is Vitamin K. This also comes in supplement forms, but natural sources of vitamin K are found in green leafy vegetables such as spinach, asparagus, green beans, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, kale and mustard greens. Fracture prevention includes side-rails on bed and hand rails on comfort rooms; refrain from putting skid mats outside the comfort rooms, doorway or stairways; and have your room transferred on the ground floor to decrease risk of sliding off the stairs.

Although there are lifestyle changes for osteoporosis, medication also aids in subduing bone degeneration normally seen in senility. One of the commonly used drug is bisphosphonates. The biphosphonate, Alendronate Sodium (Fosamax) is commonly used as a first-line treatment for women with menopausal osteoporosis. Although the drug caused bone empowerment in the first 4 years of Fosamax use, new studies published in the 2011 February issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) shows that long-term use of Fosamax in five years period may cause Fosamax users to suffer from bone breakage. Many claims arose regarding Fosamax's link with atypical, low-impact femur fractures experience by Fosamax users. This issue is an additional burden for Fosamax's manufacturer, Merck, who is already bombarded with ONJ lawsuits and other Fosamax side effects ailing the consumers.

Notwithstanding the easily accessible and attainable lifestyle changes, medication is needed for osteoporosis treatment. But you must be sure to take medication for osteoporosis treatment to aid in fracture prevention, not worsen your condition and cause atypical, low-impact femur fracture instead. If you or your loved one suffered from femur fracture due to Fosamax use, you may want to talk to a reliable and effective Fosamax lawyer to help you get your Fosamax fracture lawsuit into motion. Visit the Fosamax femur fracture lawsuit site for more information.