Zoledronic acid, also known as zoledronate and sold under the brand name Zometa by Novartis among others, is a medication used to treat a number of bone diseases. These include osteoporosis, high blood calcium due to cancer, bone breakdown due to cancer,  Pagets disease of bone and Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). It is given by injection into a vein.Common side effects include fever, joint pain, high blood pressure, diarrhea, and feeling tired. Serious side effects may include kidney problems, low blood calcium, and osteonecrosis of the jaw. Use during pregnancy may result in harm to the baby. It is in the bisphosphonate family of medications. It works by blocking the activity of osteoclast cells and thus decreases the breakdown of bone.Zoledronic acid was patented in 1986 and approved for medical use in the United States in 2001. It is on the World Health Organizations List of Essential Medicines. Medical uses
Bone complications of cancer
Zoledronic acid is used to prevent bone fractures in patients with cancers such as multiple myeloma and prostate cancer, as well as for treating osteoporosis. It can also be used to treat hypercalcaemia of malignancy and can be helpful for treating pain from bone metastases.It can be given at home rather than in hospital. Such use has shown safety and quality-of-life benefits in people with breast cancer and bone metastases.
The old glucose/insulin provocative testing can cause life-threatening symptoms and should not be used.Also of note is that potassium levels do not have to range outside of normal limits to cause serious, even life-threatening paralysis. These diseases are not the same as having a very low level of potassium (hypokalemia) or high potassium (hyperkalemia) and must not be treated as such. The total body store of potassium is usually normal; it is just in the wrong place. Treatment
Treatment of the periodic paralyses may include carbonic anhydrase inhibitors (such as acetazolamide, methazolamide or dichlorphenamide), taking supplemental oral potassium chloride and a potassium-sparing diuretic (for hypos) or avoiding potassium (for hypers), thiazide diuretics to increase the amount of potassium excreted by the kidneys (for hypers), and significant lifestyle changes including tightly controlled levels of exercise or activity. However, treatment should be tailored to the particular type of periodic paralysis.Treatment of periodic paralysis in Andersen-Tawil syndrome is similar to that for other types. However, pacemaker insertion or an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator may be required to control cardiac symptoms. Prognosis
While the disability can range from minor, occasional weakness to permanent muscle damage, inability to hold a normal job and use of a powerchair, most people function fairly well with drugs and lifestyle changes. References
Song, YW; Kim, SJ; Heo, TH; Kim, MH; Kim, JB (Dec 2012). "Normokalemic periodic paralysis is not a distinct disease". Muscle & Nerve. 46 (6): 908–913. doi:10.1002/mus.23441. PMID 22926674. S2CID 43821573. External links
NIH information page on periodic paralysis