Bone Drugs May Be Harmful

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Alternative Medicine, anyone?

Bone drugs have been considered somewhat benign in terms of side effects, until now. A report in the current edition of the medical journal Clinical Rheumatology "...raised questions on the safety of [bone] drugs, especially in high doses, like those used in oncology [cancer treatment] and long-term treatment, as needed in patients with osteoporosis."

No mention of course, unfortunately, of alternative medicine treatment.

Editor's Note: The problem basically involves the lack of knowledge of the body's workings. If the knowledge was wide-spread, more physicians would advocate the use of a more benign drug--aspirin--not for the pain, but for the effective reduction of the culprit, a body chemical called PGE2*.

PGE2, which increases with age, changes the biochemistry of bone from the presence of osteoblasts (bone builders) to osteoclasts, which break down bone. In this case, aspirin, which inhibits PGE2, qualifies as alternative medicine.

Another problem is that there is little money in it, and many physicians consider aspirin as "unglamorous," or "unsophisticated." Bisphosphonates, the term for the class of such drugs are certainly sophisticated, if more dangerous. Fosamax is a common brand, by the way.

In: Clin. Reumatol, 2011 May-June. By: Drs. Arboleya, Alperi and Alonso, Servicio de Reumatologia, Hospital Universitario Central de Asturias, Oviedo, Spain.

*Prostaglandin E2.