Alendronic acid

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Scottish Government Effective Prescribing & Therapeutics Division
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What is Alendronic Acid? (Alendronate, Fosamax, Binosto)

Osteoporosis is a bone disease which causes your bones to become brittle and fragile, making them prone to breaks and fractures.​

Alendronic Acid slows down the rate at which old bone is lost. This reduces your risk of broken bones and fractures.

Find out more at: ​

https://patient.info/medicine/alendronic-acid-for-osteoporosis-fosamax-binosto#nav-0​

https://www.medicines.org.uk/emc/product/5697/pil

How likely is Alendronic Acid to help me?

Key

  • This grey face represents the number of people in the survey group.
  • This green face represents the one person in the survey group that the medicine has helped.

For women who are past the menopause and have already had a vertebral fracture, research  suggests that the benefits of Alendronic Acid vary with age:

  • In a group of 80 women aged 65-74with previous vertebral fractures, Alendronic Acid will prevent  one person (on average) from  a second fracture in the course of one year.

1in80_womenAged65-74

  • In a group of 45 women aged 75- 79with previous vertebral fractures, Alendronic Acid will prevent  one person (on average) from  a second fracture in the course of one year.

1in45_womenAged75-79

  • In a group of 60 women aged 80-84 with previous vertebral fractures, Alendronic Acid will prevent  one person (on average) from  a second fracture in the course of one year.

1in60_womenAge80-84

 

For women who  are  past the menopause and are at risk, but have not yet had a fracture, research  suggests that the benefits of Alendronic Acid vary according to age:

  • In a group of 740 women aged 65-69with previous vertebral fractures, Alendronic Acid will prevent  one person (on average) from  having a fracture in the course of one year. 
  • In a group of 335 women aged 75- 79with previous vertebral fractures, Alendronic Acid will prevent  one person (on average) from having a fracture in the course of one year.
  • In a group of 485 women aged 80-84with previous vertebral fractures, Alendronic Acid will prevent  one person (on average) from  having a fracture in the course of one year.
  • It is not possible to tell what will happen to you as an individual.
  • Read the research at http://www.cochrane.org/CD001155/MUSKEL_alendronate-for-preventing-fractures-caused-by-osteoporosis-in-postmenopausal-women

What are the possible risks of taking Alendronic Acid?

You can discuss with your health professional  the possible side effects and other risks AlendronicAcid might have.

side-effects are unwanted affects that can happen to your body when taking a medicine. 

Not everyone will get side-effects. These usually improve as your body adjusts to the new medicine, but speak with your doctor or pharmacist if any of the following side-effects persist or worry you.

The most common side-effects of Alendronate, affecting less than 1 in 10 people, are:

  • Indigestion, abdominal pain, bloating
  • Constipation or Diarrhoea
  • Headache, muscle or joint pain
  • Dizziness, itching.

Find out more at: https://patient.info/medicine/alendronic-acid-for-osteoporosis-fosamax-binosto#nav-4