interesting, chief.  they've got me on 50,000 units of vitamin D for mine.
don't know why none of my docs will put me on evista, fosamax or whatever.

kate
SAN JOSE - August 12, 2006

Forgot milk?  Better get to know Forteo and Fosamax. In
a study with potentially life-altering implications for
millions of Americans with osteoporosis, researchers at
the University of California - San Francisco have found
that new bone can be formed -- and then maintained --
by taking a hormone for one year and a popular Rx drug
for the next year.
The findings, which appeared in yesterday's New England
Journal of Medicine, raise hopes that stronger bones
might mean fewer broken hips and so-called dowager's
humps, boosting quality of life for many seniors and
saving billions annually.
Scientists cautioned that the new study does not track
whether the drugs result in fewer fractures.  Instead,
it measured bone density in patients taking the drugs
in combination or alone.
The results were positive enough for researchers to
say physicians should be discussing the therapies with
their patients, and patients should consider taking
them.
Researchers studied 238 women.  Those who took the
experimental hormone similar to the FDA-approved
Forteo, which builds bone, and followed it with a year
of Fosamax, which prevents bone-density loss, saw the
bone density in their spines increase an average 12%.
But the researchers were suprised by another finding.
Not using Fosamax during the 2nd year erases almost
all the gains.
The findings are important because patients were not
supposed to take Forteo, which can cost $6,000+ a year
for more than 2 years because of concerns that long-
term use could be cancerous.  Doctors have been
grappling with how to treat osteoporosis once patients
stop taking forteo.

... Dolly Parton to Mrs Folger: Yes, they are Mountain Grown!