Medical Update - March 28, 2005

Men who suffer with depression could be at a higher risk for other problems later in life and women could find help for osteoporosis in a monthly pill. <br/><br/>News on 6 anchor LeAnne Taylor has details

Tuesday, March 29th 2005, 6:17 am

By: News On 6

Men who suffer with depression could be at a higher risk for other problems later in life and women could find help for osteoporosis in a monthly pill.

News on 6 anchor LeAnne Taylor has details in this Medical Update.

Some 44 million Americans suffer with the bone weakening condition known as osteoporosis, but it looks like help is on the way. The FDA has given the go ahead to a monthly osteoporosis drug. Boniva is expected to go on sale next month.

In clinical trials, the once a month pill reduced the number of bone fractures in women with osteoporosis and help to strengthen bone density in women who had not developed the disease.

US health officials are giving drug companies suggestions for improving safety monitoring for new medicines. The FDA guidelines com in the wake of safety problems with widely used drugs like Vioxx. The guidelines recommend specific tests companies can do to shed light on possible safety issues. The agency also wants drug makers to discuss safety monitoring with regulators sooner in the development process.

Researchers say men with a history of depression are more likely to develop dementia later in life. An Italian study found men with depression had a significantly higher risk for Alzheimer's disease.

Researchers did not observe the same risk in women and believe differences between the male and female brain coupled with a different exposure to hormones may explain why.