Abstract
Oral bisphosphonates are the first class of drugs other than estrogen that have been proven to reduce fracture incidence substantially. Since they are agents that inhibit bone resorption and are hardly absorbed through intestine, researchers have been focusing on augmentation of inhibitory effects of bisphosphonates on bone resorption and prolongation of the interval of drug administration. Even though they have a break-through efficacy on preventing fractures, there remain some rare problems to be solved, such as osteonecrosis of the jaw and atypical femoral fracture, after long-term exposure to bisphosphonates.
