Other risk factors include aging, lack of exercise, cigarette smoking, family history of osteoporosis, being thin, drinking more than a moderate amount of alcohol, being in bed for a long time because of illness, and taking cortisone-like medications or thyroid hormone. The best way to learn if you are at risk for loss of bone is to have a test called a DEXA scan or bone density study. This test will show whether you have already lost bone and are at risk of losing more. One family of drugs is called the bisphosphonates. These work by blocking the normal breakdown of bone.
Estrogens work in the same way.
At any given time, the body is both making new bone and breaking down old bone. The bisphosphonates work by blocking the breakdown of old bone. Using the analogy of remodeling, the bisphosphonates keep you from throwing out the old. This family of drugs has been around for almost 20 years. The first one used was called etidronate and has been shown to be effective for up to seven years of use.