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Fosamax can destroy blood vessels

Fosamax, a bisphosphonate drug manufactured by Merck, was designed to help rebuild bone density in people with osteoporosis and other bone-degenerating diseases. However in 2001, doctors and dentists started to notice that it caused another disease, osteonecrosis of the jaws (ONJ), also called “jaw bone death.” Despite this serious condition, the FDA did not send out its first warning to health professionals until three years later. And it was over four years later before Merck changed the labeling on Fosamax to include this serious side effect.

So how does Fosamax kill bone? Like many drugs, especially those man-made ones that have been altered from its “natural” state, scientists do not fully understand how bisphosphonates like Fosamax work. What is know is that the bisphosphonates build up slowly in the bone. In fact it is a very inefficient system – the body only absorbs about 3% of the bisphosphonates from each dose. Of that, about half is expelled from the body the next day in urine.

But it is this inefficiency that makes it work. Because the body cannot use or “metabolize” the bisphosphonates, the 1.5% that does make it into the body’s system is “disposed of” through the process of creating bone cells. It is similar to adding steel bar to concrete to make it stronger. The discarded bisphosphonates bind to the bone matter, ultimately strengthening it and counteracting the effects of osteoporosis or other forms of bone degeneration.

However, in some cases this seems to come at a cost. The same bisphosphonates in Fosamax that strengthen bone can also destroy the blood vessels that help nourish the bone cells. Again the reasons why are not completely clear, but the vast majority of cases occur when the patient on Fosamax (or another bisphosphonate-type drug) undergoes dental surgery or has a tooth removed. For some reason, the drug causes the body to ignore the blood vessels around the injury site, so that eventually they die off. As a result, the bone cells do not receive oxygen, and they too die.

The process is irreversible, and the only treatment after the onset of ONJ is painful and disfiguring surgical removal of the dead bone.

Perhaps it can be argued that some drugs will not reveal all of their side effects until they reach the marketplace. That may be true, but why did it take the FDA so long to issue an official warning, and even longer for Merck to change its Fosamax labeling? By some accounts, there have been 2,400 cases of ONJ associated with Fosamax within five years. Some of those could have been prevented if the company had warned consumers and health care professionals about the condition and how to reduce the risk of ONJ.

Regardless of what could or could not have been done, each manufacturer is responsible for the safety of the drugs they sell. If you have developed ONJ while taking Fosamax, contact  a Jim S. Adler & Associates personal injury lawyer for a free case review. The firm has more than 30 years of medical law experience, and we may be able to help you secure the compensation you need to cover medical bills, lost work, and mental anguish. Call us directly right now using our toll-free number, or fill out the form with the details of your Fosamax-related injuries to start your free case evaluation.

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