Researchers reported in the online issue of Nature Medicine that a popular diabetes drug, marketed as Avandia, might cause an increase in bone thinning. The research suggests that treating type 2 diabetes on a long-term basis with rosiglitazone, as Avandia is called, could lead to osteoporosis.
The body is constantly breaking down and rebuilding bones. The researchers found in mice, that the drug caused an increased activity of the cells that cause bones to break down. This bone removal activity may account for the increased risk of fractures found in women with type 2 diabetes who take the drug.
The assumption of researchers in the past had been that brittle bones found in diabetics were caused by a decrease in bone building activity and not an increase in the bone removal process.
Older women who are at a higher risk for bone fractures should be cautioned about the long-term use of rosiglitazone. The researchers indicated that using the drug in combination with anti-osteoporosis drugs could be helpful.