Is Fosamax Dangerous?
Here’s where things get more difficult. There are documented cases of ONJ being associated with treatment oral bisphosphonates. Note, however, that there is still not great evidence about how strong the cause and effect relationship is. Merck, the manufacturer of Fosamax (alendronate), has estimated that the incidence of ONJ related to alendronate is 0.7 cases per 100,000 patient years. In other words, you would expect that for every 143,000 patients taking Fosamax for a year, one patient would get ONJ because of taking Fosamax. A study of 13,000 Kaiser Permanente patients who were long-term users of Fosamax estimated 0.06% of patients, or one patient for every 1,700 on Fosamax, would get ONJ at some point. Studies in Germany and Australia found generally lower risks. Patients have to balance these risks against the risk of breaking a bone — an elderly person who breaks a hip may never return to the active lifestyle he or she knew. So no patient should discontinue bisphosphonate therap
