10 Type 1 patients and one Type 3 were studied over a period of 18-83 months. Bone is not static. It is continuously being remade. Bones grow and strengthen due to exercise and stress. Bisphosphonate drugs slow down the action of osteoclasts preventing more bone being destroyed than being made.
Osteoporosis causes brittle bones and demineralisation of bones.
We propose to start a trial of Fosamax at two centres, one at my hospital in Cincinnati and one in Jerusalem. We obtained funding for this in October this year. The two year trial at Cincinnati will be double blind with half the patients receiving a 40mg pill of Fosamax each day and half receiving a placebo. We aim to recruit 82 patients and match them by age, severity, sex and enzyme replacement therapy dose. They will be male and female, aged between 18 and 45 years old and have been receiving enzyme replacement therapy for over 2 years.