PregLem, the Swiss company developing the drug, under the brand name Esmya, hopes ultimately to get it approved as the first in a new class of products for long-term treatment of fibroids, endometriosis, and other benign but bothersome gynecological conditions.
- Marie McCullough
Study suggests heart failure adds to osteoporosis risk
Doctors recommend screening for osteoporosis based on a number of risk factors, such as age, family history, and, in the case of women, whether they have gone through menopause.
A new study recommends adding another item to the list: heart failure.
The authors followed more than 45,000 older adults for a median period of five years. Those who had recently been afflicted with heart failure were 30 percent more likely to suffer a major fracture than those who did not suffer from the condition, independent of other risk factors such as bone density.
Previous studies had suggested such a connection, because heart-failure medicines may increase the risk of fractures and because the disease itself can affect bone health. But the earlier studies did not control for bone density.
The study, led by a University of Alberta physician, was published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.
- Tom Avril
After menopause, indigestion drugs increase fracture risk
Taking common indigestion drugs known as proton pump inhibitors increases the risk of fractures in postmenopausal women, according to a new study. Researchers from Massachusetts General Hospital looked at a large sample of nearly 80,000 post-menopausal patients over a period from 2000 to 2008. In that time, 893 of them suffered hip fractures - less than 2 percent.
