Aclasta information: Osteoporosis drug treatment: 

Aclasta information for patients with Osteoporosis: The Osteoporosis prescription drug, Aclasta, is distributed in Europe and in Australia. In the United States, the drug is sold under the name name, Reclast. Aclasta and Reclast are the exact same drug. They are just sold under different names.

More Aclasta information.  This Osteoporosis drug is a form of zolendronic acid,  a drug that belongs to class of drugs called bisphosphonates. Bisphosphonates affect the way your body renews your bones.  Your bones, like all the cells of your body, undergo constant  renewal.  Old bone is removed and new bone is built.  Bisphosphonates, including Aclasta,  slow the rate at which your body removes  'old bone'.  Since old bone is not being removed, your bone density increases.   

Of course that means that your skeleton now contains older bone, bone normally removed by your body......and this older bone is not as strong as your newer bone and and as discussed below this older bone can pose some issues.                                   

Taking Aclasta .  With Aclasta there is NO daily pill to take. Instead you go to your doctor's office once a year for  an IV infusion of Aclasta and it goes directly into your vein. Then you go home. Done.  No daily or weekly pills to remember.  Many              patients prefer this medication to other Osteoporosis drug because of this once a year treatment. You make your appointment, go to the office, have your infusion and your Osteoporosis treatment is done until next year.

More information about Aclasta This drug is also sold under the name Reclast. This Osteoporosis treatment drug appeals to those who prefer not to take daily or weekly pills. There is nothing to remember with this drug! (Most doctors' office staff are willing to keep track of your treatment date and call you when it is time for you to make an appointment and come in for your annual infusion.) You go in, have your infusion and then go home to live your life.

What company makes Aclasta ? Are they well known?

Novartis,  one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world, is the company that makes Aclasta.   They developed the drug and did all the necessary research studies before the drug could be approved and brought to market. They are also the company that provides all the Aclasta patient information.

Scientific studies. One study of Aclasta was  The Pivotal Fracture Trial  . It showed that Aclasta increased bone strength and reduced fractures of the hip, spine and other areas such as wrists, arms, legs and/or ribs. After that Pivotal Fracture Trial, the drug was approved for use by those who had Osteoporosis. 

More Aclasta patient information: Note that the Pivotal Fracture Trial showed that Aclasta appeared to be effective in reducing fractures, which is the main reason why anyone treats Osteoporosis. No one wants a fracture because their bones have become thinnerand  weaker as a result of age or one of other Causes of Osteopenia, Osteoporosis  (Note: If you have not checked out all the possible causes of your bone loss, I encourage you to do so. You might find something you can change easily.)

When Aclasta was approved, it was the only drug that had been shown to reduce fractures at ALL the key sites where Osteoporosis fractures usually occur: hips, spine, wrists, arms, legs and ribs. As a result Aclasta was seen as a big advance in the treatment of Osteopenia or Osteoporosis.                                                                                                                                                                                                Note: If you are concerned about having one of the small spinal fractures that can cause back hump (See: dowagers humps, ) you may want to know that the New England Journal of Medicine reported in May 2007 that a study involving more than 7,700 women, showed that treatment with Aclasta reduced the risk of spinal fractures by 70% AND Aclasta also reduced hip fractures by 41%.

The reduction in spinal fractures for the three years of the study was as follows: 60% reduction in year one; 71% in year two and 70% in year three. Those are significant numbers! -- especially when we consider that bone loss in the spine usually leads to kyphosis (or dowagers hump)  - an unsightly and often debilitating condition. 

Additional Aclasta information:

 Novatis, the company that manufactures Aclasta,  states in that this drug:  "has shown significant efficacy in protecting women against fractures in all the           common osteoporotic fracture sites, while demonstrating a favorable safety                profile. It is our hope that this innovative once-yearly dosing regimen will have a          positive impact on the management of this potentially devastating condition." 

Also,  that same Aclasta patient information states that Aclasta  "is indicated for treatment of osteoporosis in postmenopausal women. In patients with a recent low-trauma hip fracture".. and that this drug.. "reduces the incidence of new clinical fractures".   So if you have already had a hip fracture your doctor may want to prescribe Aclasta so as to reduce the risk of your having a second fracture.

If your health care provider is considering  Aclasta annual drug infusion, you may be interested in additional information about the drug:

• Aclasta is: "indicated for treatment of osteoporosis associated with long-term systemic glucocorticoid therapy in postmenopausal women and in men with increased risk of fracture"         and 
• "Aclasta is indicated for the treatment of Paget's disease of the bone."

Other advantages of Aclasta. Many in the health care community believe that once a year infusions are the helpful for patients because they offer an alternative to the inconvenience of daily, weekly or monthly Osteoporosis prescription drugs.  Also annual infusions eliminate one of the main problems of daily or monthly medications - that many people forget to take their drugs or just stop taking their prescribed medication!       

 (This failure to take medication is called 'non-compliance' by the medical community and it has been shown that non-compliance with daily or weekly Osteoporosis medication is high.  Aclasta reduces the non-compliance rate.)

Now not everyone wants to take prescription drugs to build stronger bones.  As noted on this web site under Natural Treatments for building strong bones there are a number of way, besides prescription drugs, to build stronger bones. Amazon offers many.....and at good prices.