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Actonel® (risedronate sodium tablets) has recently been approved of a new dose (75 mg tablet) by the USFDA which will give patients the option of taking one Actonel 75 mg tablet on two consecutive days, for a total of two tablets monthly, to treat and prevent their postmenopausal osteoporosis.

Actonel, a therapy proven to reduce the risk of both vertebral and nonvertebral fractures in postmenopausal women with osteoporosis, will soon be available in this monthly two-day dose option.

The said approval was based on the results of an active-controlled, double- blind clinical trial of 1,229 postmenopausal women with osteoporosis aged 50 years or older with a lumbar spine bone mineral density (LS BMD) T-score less than or equal to -2.5 OR a LS BMD T-score less than or equal -2.0 and at least one prevalent vertebral fracture.

Clinical data form the said trial revealed that increases in bone mineral density (BMD) at the lumbar spine, total hip, and hip trochanter in patients treated with Actonel 75 mg (taken on two consecutive days a month) were similar to those in patients treated with Actonel 5 mg daily at both time points measured (6 and 12 months).

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