Teriparatide
Also called: Forteo
What it means
Teriparatide (Forteo) is a daily injected medication that stimulates bone-building cells to form new bone, rather than just slowing bone loss.
Understanding that teriparatide builds new bone, works for a limited time, and is usually followed by another medication can help you have an informed conversation with your prescriber about your treatment plan.
Teriparatide (brand name Forteo) is a daily self-injected medication made from a portion of parathyroid hormone. Unlike many osteoporosis drugs that just slow bone breakdown, teriparatide is anabolic, meaning it actively stimulates osteoblasts, the cells that build new bone tissue. Given this way, it tends to produce larger bone density gains than antiresorptives like bisphosphonates, which is why it's typically reserved for people at higher risk of fracture.
Teriparatide isn't meant to be used indefinitely. It's time-limited by design, usually given for a course lasting around 12 to 24 months. The bone gains made during that time aren't self-sustaining on their own, so standard practice is to follow an anabolic course like teriparatide with an antiresorptive medication to help hold onto the bone that was built.
Whether teriparatide is right for you, how long you'd use it, and what would follow it are all decisions that belong to your prescriber, based on your individual risk and health history.
How sure is this?
Graded Strong Clinical Evidence: Supported by multiple well-designed clinical studies in humans. Read each study with its grade in mind. One study is a piece of the picture, not the whole of it.
Where the Academy teaches it
This page is the short version. The lessons teach it in full, with the context around it and a quiz to lock it in.
Questions people ask about this
Bone medications generally work in one of two ways: they either slow down the cells that break down old bone (antiresorptives), or they actively stimulate the cells that build new bone (anabolics). Which family your drug belongs to tells you a lot about what it can realistically do, and that's worth asking your prescriber about directly.
Read the full answer →Related words
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Education only, not medical advice. Decisions about tests, medications and treatment belong with your own doctor. OsteoStrong does not diagnose, treat or cure any disease.
