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Above Dr. Ethel Sirisis
the first Madeline C. Stabile
Professor of Clinical Medicine and director of the
Osteoporosis Prevention and Treatment Program at P&S
| Antoinette D. Stabile
and Vincent A. Stabile, trustees of the Madeline C. Stabile Foundation,
have given $1.5 million for a new professorship in memory of their sister, Madeline Stabile. Ms. Stabile, who served as vice president of the family business, Industrial Retaining Ring Company, had osteoporosis and was dedicated to the need to educate health care professionals and uncover new knowledge about the disease. The Madeline C. Stabile Foundation, formed several months before she died in early 1996, funded osteoporosis programs in the P&S Department of Medicine between 1994 and 1996. In October 1996, Dr. Ethel S. Siris, professor of clinical medicine, became the first Madeline C. Stabile Professor of Clinical Medicine. Dr. Siris graduated from P&S in 1971 and joined the faculty in 1977. She has been internationally recognized for her contributions to the understanding of bone disease, especially Paget's disease and osteoporosis. Her research has contributed significantly to improved, more individualized treatment regimens now available for patients with osteoporosis and for those at risk. This is essential work: Osteoporosis affects an estimated 25 million Americans, mainly women, resulting in some 1.3 million bone fractures a year in people over 45. Osteoporosis-related hip fractures are especially devastating. Half of all people who suffer a hip fracture because of osteoporosis never return to independent living, and they are 20 percent less likely to survive the next year than those without hip fractures. The endowed professorship and additional support will enable Dr. Siris and her colleagues to continue to develop the Osteoporosis Prevention and Treatment Program, an integral part of the Metabolic Bone Diseases Program in the Department of Medicine. It serves as a model for other academic medical centers by combining leading research with individualized, supportive care and state-of-the-art educational programs. As director of the program, Dr. Siris is expanding several areas, including research, patient care, education, and prevention. Among the most exciting plans for the coming years is the proposed addition of a facility for outpatient treatment of women with osteoporosis and those at risk, to be located in the Harkness Pavilion. With enough support, the center may even offer free screening tests for people living in the Washington Heights and Harlem communities. Drug therapies help women who already have osteoporosis, "but a fracture is just the first symptom of a process of bone loss that goes on in all women after menopause," says Dr. Siris. "The extent of a woman's risk of fracture depends in part on how much bone she has at age 30, when she has her peak bone mass, as well as on the rate at which she loses bone after menopause." Future therapies will aim to build peak bone mass and slow bone loss. "The real work in osteoporosis research lies in preventing it from ever developing," she says. The program will create educational materials to spread public information about the prevention of osteoporosis. To learn more about the Osteoporosis Prevention and Treatment Center, visit http://cpmcnet.columbia.edu/dept /extrel/guide/guid0045.html on the World Wide Web. |
Two New Weapons
Against Osteoporosis
As more women come to the Osteoporosis Prevention and Treatment Center, the growing patient base will make studies of larger groups possible. The numbers also will make the program more attractive to peer-reviewed research grants from the National Institutes of Health and other organizations. Currently under way at the center are trials for two new drugs:
Raloxifene
Raloxifene is chemically related to tamoxifen and has some estrogen-like effects. Like estrogen, it helps slow bone loss. It also lowers LDL cholesterol although, unlike estrogen, it does not raise HDL levels. Importantly, it does not stimulate breast tissue, leading researchers to speculate that it may pose less risk for breast cancer and possibly afford breast protection. In addition, raloxifene does not stimulate the uterus and therefore does not produce menstrual-like bleeding. The drug's effectiveness against osteoporosis has been tested on approximately 10,000 subjects in medical centers around the world.
Tiludronate
Tiludronate is also being tested in a multicenter trial. Tiludronate is similar in action to the anti-osteoporosis drug alendronate but is used cyclically rather than daily.
As more women come to the Osteoporosis Prevention and Treatment Center, the growing patient base will make studies of larger groups possible. The numbers also will make the program more attractive to peer-reviewed research grants from the National Institutes of Health and other organizations. Currently under way at the center are trials for two new drugs:
RaloxifeneRaloxifene is chemically related to tamoxifen and has some estrogen-like effects. Like estrogen, it helps slow bone loss. It also lowers LDL cholesterol although, unlike estrogen, it does not raise HDL levels. Importantly, it does not stimulate breast tissue, leading researchers to speculate that it may pose less risk for breast cancer and possibly afford breast protection. In addition, raloxifene does not stimulate the uterus and therefore does not produce menstrual-like bleeding. The drug's effectiveness against osteoporosis has been tested on approximately 10,000 subjects in medical centers around the world.
Tiludronate Tiludronate is also being tested in a multicenter trial. Tiludronate is similar in action to the anti-osteoporosis drug alendronate but is used cyclically rather than daily.
