Osteoporosis drugs are to be re-evaluated by an FDA advisory panel on Friday amid concerns that their use can cause brittle bones.
The Food and Drug Administration advisory panel plans to make recommendations on whether the drugs' use should be limited to a few years, the WSJ reports.
They will also consider whether some women should temporarily stop treatment, a concept known as “a drug holiday.” The agency declined to comment ahead of the meeting.
Last year, the FDA recommended that doctors periodically re-evaluate the need for continued therapy in patients who have been on the drugs for more than five years, reports the WSJ.
Their recommendation arose from concerns about an unusual type of thigh, or femur, fracture seen in at least 300 women.
The drugs can slow the disintegration of bone caused by osteoporosis by partly blocking the body's natural process involved in removing and rebuilding bone tissue.
However, researchers speculate the products might also make the remaining bone brittle and susceptible to a rare type of thigh fracture and jaw-bone decay, the WSJ reports.
In 1995, Merck & Co.'s Fosamax became the first approved drug in a group of medications called bisphosphonates.
It was believed then that patients diagnosed with osteoporosis could be placed on the drugs indefinitely.
