Teriparatide
Teriparatide is a man-made piece of parathyroid hormone, the body's own regulator of calcium and bone. A daily shot builds new bone. It treats osteoporosis, a disease of thin, weak bone.
Bone loss speeds up around menopause. In 451 midlife women, faster spine bone loss predicted later fracture whatever the starting density was.1 A review of osteoporosis before menopause reports that most young women with low bone density or a low-trauma fracture have another condition driving it. The review puts treatment of that cause first.2
A restorative evaluation asks what is driving the loss. Trials show that teriparatide raises bone density in osteoporosis before menopause. The trials are small, too small to show whether fracture risk falls.2
Cited in this entry
- Shieh A, Karlamangla AS, Huang MH, Han W, Greendale GA. Faster Lumbar Spine Bone Loss in Midlife Predicts Subsequent Fracture Independent of Starting Bone Mineral Density. The Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism. 2021. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33903908/
- Cohen A. Premenopausal Osteoporosis. Endocrinology and metabolism clinics of North America. 2017. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28131128/
This content is for educational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Consult an RRM clinician or healthcare provider for guidance specific to your situation.
