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Actonel is used to treat bone disease and belongs to a group of medicines called bisphosphonates.
Actonel works directly on your bones to make them stronger and therefore less likely
to break or fracture.
Actonel 5mg daily, 35mg Once-a-Week and 150mg Once-a-Month tablets are used to treat:
osteoporosis (brittle or fragile bones that may fracture easily)
osteoporosis caused by taking steroids
Actonel 30mg tablets are used to treat:
Paget's disease of the bone.
These conditions are caused by changes in the way bone is normally maintained.
Understanding bone
Bone is a living tissue consisting of calcium and other minerals. Throughout life,
old bone is constantly broken down and replaced with new bone. After the age of 35,
bone loss may occur faster than your body can replace it. If you lose too much bone
then they become weaker and are more likely to break.
Osteoporosis
Osteoporosis (brittle bone disease) is a disease that causes bones to become weaker.
Weak bones break (fracture) easily.
Many patients with osteoporosis have no symptoms and may not even know that they have
osteoporosis. However osteoporosis makes you more likely to break bones when you have
a fall or bump. The spine, hip and wrist are the most likely bones to break, although
this can happen to any bone in your body. Osteoporosis can also cause back pain,
height loss and a curved back.
Osteoporosis is common in women after the menopause (change of life) and is also more
likely to occur in women who have reached the menopause early. Osteoporosis can also
occur in women who have not yet reached menopause, and in men.
Long term steroid treatment can also lead to osteoporosis in both men and women.
Actonel works by slowing down the process of old bone being removed. This allows the
bone-forming cells time to rebuild normal bone.
Actonel also helps to rebuild bone mass. This creates stronger bone which is less
likely to fracture. Therefore Actonel can help reverse the progression of osteoporosis.
Paget's disease of the bone
Paget's disease occurs when the process of bone remodelling happens too quickly and
in a disordered way. The new bone that is produced is weaker than normal and the affected
bones may become enlarged, deformed, painful and may fracture. The skull, spine, legs,
collar bone and pelvic bone are the most commonly affected.
Do not give Actonel to children or adolescents under 18 years of age.
There have been no studies of its effects in this age group.
There is no evidence that Actonel is addictive.
This medicine is available only with a doctor's prescription.
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