When the response to a medication is inadequate or ineffective, the doctor in charge will either change the drug or substitute it with another with a different mechanism of action in order to achieve a satisfactory therapeutic result. In this context, the example of the treatment of established high blood pressure is relevant. The patient usually receives several medications with different mechanisms of action in order to decrease the blood pressure to the desired level on the one hand, and to minimize the side effects on the other. Although it would appear that this strategy is also applicable to the treatment of osteoporosis, some specific problems have arisen, particularly with monitoring the therapy. In clinical practice, the parameters currently widely applied for monitoring the efficacy of osteoporosis therapy – bone density and markers of bone remodelling – are in fact not reliable when it comes to evaluating the efficacy of therapy – that is, specifically, reduction in the rate of fractures.
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Chapter 20 Combination and Sequential Therapies
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Bartl, R., Frisch, B. (2009). Combination and Sequential Therapies. In: Osteoporosis. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-79527-8_20
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-79527-8_20
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