Protection for bones - Letter to the Editor

I'm writing in regard to the osteoporosis piece by Adriane Fugh-Berman, M.D. ("How Can I Preserve My Posture?" Ask the Experts, October/November 2001). Our calcium and magnesium formula includes the soy derivative ipriflavone, which was negatively referred to in your article.

In the past 10 years, many clinical studies have shown ipriflavone to be effective in preventing bone loss without side effects. Only the recent Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) study calls these findings into question. It appears that participants in this controversial study developed lymphocytopenia, a finding that certainly raised concerns. But we should bear in mind that this suggests the first harmful side effect linked to ipriflavone. This may only apply to severely osteoporotic, overweight women. By jumping to conclusions, your article may turn readers away from a well-researched, effective, and primarily safe means of protecting bones.

Diana M. Allen
Pioneer Nutritional Formulas Inc.
Shelburne Falls, Mass.

Adriane Fugh-Berman, M.D., responds:

Ms. Allen is wrong on several counts. Ipriflavone is not a soy derivative; it is a synthetic isoflavone. The study of ipriflavone published in JAMA is an excellent multicenter study that is more than twice as large as any previous study, and is the only study of ipriflavone designed to look at fractures, not just bone density (no benefit was seen for either). This study is not controversial in the scientific community. Of 234 subjects treated with ipriflavone, 29 developed a low lymphocyte count; in some cases it lasted a year after discontinuation. Lymphocytopenia has been noted in previous trials that tested for it (most did not), and decreased immune function is not a trivial effect. Ms. Allen offers no evidence for her assertion that only severely osteoporotic, overweight women are affected.

COPYRIGHT 2002 Weider Publications
COPYRIGHT 2002 Gale Group