Osteoporosis Drug Could Change Treatment: Study Early results indicate romosozumab can rebuild bone
By Dennis Thompson
HealthDay Reporter
THURSDAY, Jan. 2, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- A new medication for osteoporosis prompts the body to rebuild bone and could potentially strengthen the skeleton against fractures, researchers report.
The experimental drug, romosozumab, frees the body's ability to stimulate bone production by blocking biochemical signals that naturally inhibit bone formation, explained Dr. Michael McClung, founding director of the Oregon Osteoporosis Center in Portland, Ore.
The treatment is one-and-a-half to three times more effective than current osteoporosis drugs in rebuilding bone density at the lumbar spine, according to clinical trial results McClung and his colleagues reported in the Jan.1 online edition of the New England Journal of Medicine.