Osteoporosis Drug May Fight Several Diseases

Study Shows Lasofoxifene Cuts Risk of Breast Cancer, Heart Attack, and Stroke
By Jennifer Warner
WebMD Health NewsReviewed by Louise Chang, MDFeb. 24, 2010 -- A new entry in a popular class of osteoporosis drugs may help postmenopausal women reduce their risk of broken bones as well as fight breast cancer, heart disease, and stroke.

Lasofoxifene is a part of a class of drugs known as nonsteroidal selective estrogen-receptor modulators (SERMs). It has already been shown to decrease the bone loss and weakening associated with osteoporosis, like other SERMs, including tamoxifen and raloxifene. But until now its effect on other health conditions commonly experienced by postmenopausal women was unknown.

A new study shows that postmenopausal women with osteoporosis who took a 0.5-milligram daily dose of lasofoxifene had a 42% lower risk of vertebral (spinal) fractures and a 24% lower risk of non-vertebral fractures than those who took a placebo treatment.

The women who took lasofoxifene also had an 81% lower risk of estrogen-receptor (ER) positive breast cancer, a 32% lower risk of heart-related events like heart attack, and a 36% lower risk of stroke.

"This is the first SERM that reduces the risk of all of these conditions at once," researcher Steven Cummings, MD, of the San Francisco Coordinating Center at the California Pacific Medical Center Research Institute, says in a news release. "Not only did it reduce vertebral fractures, which was not unexpected, it also reduced the risk of non-vertebral fractures -- injuries to the arms, legs, ribs, hips -- that are the most common injuries to people with osteoporosis and the main causes of disability."
Source: http://www.webmd.com/osteoporosis/news/20100224/osteoporosis-drug-may-fight-several-diseases

this article is very relevent as we have discussed how importaint it is for women to have a high calcium/ vitaminD intake to fight ostioperosis. As well as doing this women that are high risk for this condition must take preventative medication like the one in the article. Particularly this medicine is a good choice because it prevents many other fatal conditions asosiated with aging women. I find it odd the FDA did not yet approve the drug, but thats the US, leave it to the government to decide which medicine is safe for you to take.