A team of U. S. epidemiologists has found that the benefits of osteoporosis treatments outweigh possible risk of rare femoral thigh bone fractures.

Epidemiologists from the University of California, San Francisco, concluded that the occurrence of an unusual type of fracture of the femur is very low in patients with osteoporosis, including those treated with the drug family known as bisphosphonates.

Data from three bisphosphonate trials that involved more than 14,000 patients was combined by the study.

Reports from the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons and news stories on bisphosphonates and femur fractures have appeared in recent weeks, Principal investigator Dennis Black said.

Black further said that the study shows that these fractures remain rare even in a population of women who have been taking the drugs for as long as 10 years.

Black also warned that while the risk was not significantly increased among the women taking bisphosphonates compared with placebo, the number of events was too low to definitely rule out a relationship. (With Inputs from Agencies)