One of the best and the new ways for curing one of the oldest diseases in the history of ailments is osteoporosis. This new drug is called denosumab. This new drug will be launched very soon.

This biological drug – denosumab is consumed through injections every six months and the researchers have stated about its safety and effectiveness in the futuristic and informative online journal New England Journal of Medicine.

In the month of August the FDA advisory panel will meet and decide the future of this new drug that may cure osteoporosis.

Studies Regarding The Drug

This drug functions in a different manner than the other drugs that cure osteoporosis. This new drug connects with a protein present in the body called Rankl and the cells termed as osteoclasts split as it a protocol of the bone remodeling pattern.

The main idea that effectively facilitates the functioning of the drug is the slowing down of the bone-fragmenting process in human beings. People suffering from osteoporosis generally have thin bones and the drug stops the further thinning down process.

This drug hogged limelight in September 2008 when it was announced that this wonder drug may manifest the curing of the disease. This idea was presented in the yearly meet of the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research in Montreal.

The trials of the drug have been researched and even published in journals along with a different category of research that focuses on men suffering from the cancer of the prostate and the consumption of the bone weakening remedy to cure the deadly disease.

Both the studies saw the patients receive an injection of denosumab or placebo every six months for a span of three years. And in both the studies the patients consuming denosumab displayed the lesser fracture of bones.

Postmenopausal Study

In the postmenopausal study of treating osteoporosis the total number of subjects included 7,800 women between the ages of sixty to ninety years suffering from the ailment of osteoporosis. About 2.3 % of the subjects developed new fractures in their bones after consuming denosumab and 7.2% of the subjects that consumed placebo developed the same.

A notable difference of 68% was seen and this was concluded by the eminent researcher Steven Cummings, MD, director of the San Francisco Coordinating Center at the California Pacific Medical Center and a university lecturer of medicine and epidemiology at the University of California at San Francisco.

Cummings has stated the vast difference is great as it helps in the reduction of vertebral fractures of the already thin bones.

Prostate Cancer Study

This study witnessed 1400 men as subjects that suffer from prostate cancer. After the consumption of denosumab 1.5% of the patients suffered new fractures whereas after consuming placebo 3.9% of the patients suffered new vertebral fractures.

The viewing of the spectacular decrease of fractures of the bone in a span of three years with men suffering the deadly cancer is a great achievement. This has been stated by Matthew Smith, MD, PhD. He is the director of genitourinary medical oncology at Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center.

Osteoporosis is a disease that has a delimiting effect on the bones. By the term “osteoporosis”, it means that the bones become more porous and less dense. This situation often leads to fractures and dislocation. Osteoporosis initially does not cause pain and can hardly be noticed. It virtually creeps into the body and does not become known till the fracture of the affected bone occurs.

Osteoporosis is a degenerative disease and once diagnosed with a fracture, after the initial treatment of the fracture, recurring pain occurs intermittently sometimes taking a severe form and at times tolerably mild in form.

Osteoporosis is found to occur with the progression of age and though is said to be prevalent mostly among the women population, no significant evidence has been found why men are equally prone to the disease. It occurs mainly in the hip, wrist and spinal regions and the probability of the disease increases more with advancing age both in men and women. Fractures affecting the vertebrate column are more severe and serious in nature since they often lead to deformity, severe back pain and loss of height. Depression has also been reported to set in, in specific cases leading to other complications.

Symptoms of Osteoporosis

As in most degenerative disease, osteoporosis does not show any symptoms of having set in. In most cases, the patient is hardly aware of the introduction of the disease to the body unless the first tingling pain occurs. The symptoms of osteoporosis are hardly noticeable until the first fracture occurs. Since osteoporosis sets in silently into the body, it is more commonly referred to as the silent epidemic that limits the movement of the person significantly with the progress of the disease.

Noticeable symptoms of osteoporosis appear when a person walks with an uncomfortable hump called the Dowager’s Hump or has difficulty in walking with the normal gait. This is indicative of osteoporosis advancing into the system. A fracture already having taken place proves beyond doubt that the disease has set in.

Causes of the Disease

In the absence of specific symptoms, doctors tend to look at the various risk factors and the modified risk factors to understand the root cause of the disease. The various risk factors leading to the disease are age, gender, rheumatoid arthritis, family history, prolonged treatment with steroids and related drugs, ethnicity and previous history of fractures. Other factors contributing to the cause of the disease are smoking, alcohol, Vitamin D deficiency, lack of exercise, improper diet and related lifestyle issues.

Treatment of Osteoporosis

As has already been said, osteoporosis is a degenerative disease and hence has no specific cure to eliminate the disease completely. However, treatment of osteoporosis is a combination of drug therapy and lifestyle changes. Doctors prescribe adequate intake of calcium and vitamin D together with a regimen of protein to reduce the risk of fractures and maintain bone density. Therapeutic treatment of osteoporosis and drug monitoring helps in reducing the reoccurrence of fractures.