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Women with an increased risk of osteoporotic fractures will qualify for a new NHS treatment, it has been revealed.
Denosumab – marketed under the name Prolia – copies the body’s system for controlling bone breakdown and is administered by injection.
Under the treatment cells which break down bones are targeted in a bid to make bones more dense and cut the chances of fracture.
The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (Nice) called the treatment “good news” for post-menopausal women with osteoporosis. The body also issued its final recommendation on the treatment.
Dr Carole Longson, health technology evaluation centre director at Nice, said: “We are pleased to be able to recommend denosumab to help prevent osteoporotic fractures in post-menopausal women at increased risk of fracture who are unable to take oral bisphosphonates.
“Denosumab joins the range of treatments that Nice has already advised should be available on the NHS, to help stop a fracture from occurring in the first place, or to help women who have previously had a fracture.
“This new guidance is good news for post-menopausal women at increased risk of fracture as it means that they now have a further treatment option to help them avoid suffering an osteoporotic fracture.”
Copyright Press Association 2010
