Drugs to Build Bones May Weaken Them

By TARA PARKER-POPE Published: July 15, 2008, New York Times A series of case reports indicates that a rare type of leg fracture is linked to osteoporosis treatment. The concern rises mainly from a series of case reports showing a rare type of leg fracture that shears straight across the upper thighbone after little or no trauma. Fractures in this sturdy part of the bone typically result from car accidents, or in the elderly and frail. But the case reports show the unusual fracture pattern in people who have used bone-building drugs called bisphosphonates for five years or more.