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Teriparatide /Forteo

 also available in generic form is a recombinant form of parathyroid hormone, used in the treatment of some forms of osteoporosis.

Teriparatide is administered by injection once a day in the thigh or abdomen.

Teriparatide is used ‘in patients with severe osteoporosis. The drug also has an ongoing clinical trial to evaluate its effectiveness in treating the symptoms of osteogenesis imperfecta

Side effects

Follow the link for all the side effects 53,949 reports from FDA and social media of adverse resactions.

'The most commonly reported side effects are nausea, leg cramps and dizziness. The main risk of teriparatide is an increased risk of osteosarcoma, at least as seen in rat studies. Cases of bone tumor and osteosarcoma have been reported'

The theory

Endogenous PTH is the primary regulator of calcium and phosphate metabolism in bone and kidney. PTH increases serum calcium, partially accomplishing this by increasing bone resorption. Thus, chronically elevated PTH will deplete bone stores. However, intermittent exposure to PTH will activate osteoblasts more than osteoclasts. Thus, once-daily injections of teriparatide have a net effect of stimulating new bone formation leading to increased bone mineral density.

FDA approval

Teriparatide was approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on 26 November 2002, for the treatment of osteoporosis in men and postmenopausal women who are at high risk for having a fracture. The drug is also approved to increase bone mass in men with primary or hypogonadal osteoporosis who are at high risk for fracture.

On Dec, 14, 2015: 56,592 people reported to have side effects when taking Forteo. Among them, 2,017 people (3.56%) have Death.