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Therapeutics progress allow rheumatologists to 'optimally' treat osteoporosis
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DESTIN, Fla. — Although new advances in osteoporosis treatment have been effective in improving bone density and reducing fracture risk, the most important development in recent years has been the understanding of how best to use these drugs most effectively, according to Michael McClung, MD, founding director of the Oregon Osteoporosis Center.
“For the last number of years, we have had drugs that are effective in improving bone density and reducing fracture risk,” McClung told Healio Rheumatology. “But in the last 2 and 3 years, new drugs have become available, and more importantly, we have learned how to use drugs more effectively in sequence.”
McClung added that using available drugs in the proper sequence, individualized for each patient, is more effective than beginning a single therapy.
“The idea of choosing a drug for a patient and expecting them to be on it for a long, long time no longer the strategy in patients with osteoporosis,” McClung said. “Over the next several years, we will become even more intelligent, and more knowledgeable, about how best, and how optimally, to use the drugs we have in the appropriate sequences.”
Reference:
McClung M. Individualization of osteoporosis treatment in 2019. Presented at: Congress of Clinical Rheumatology; May 2-5, 2019; Destin, Fla.
Disclosure s : McClung reports consulting fees from Amgen, as well as speaking honorarium from Amgen and Radius Health.