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Ipriflavone is marketed as a natural way
to prevent bone thinning appears
ineffective, according to results of a 3-year study
in Denmark. Researchers even found some women
who took the supplement experienced a drop in their white
blood cell counts, a condition that can impair
the immune system.
Ipriflavone, is a synthetic version of
one of the isoflavones, which are plant-based compounds with
estrogen-like effects. While ipriflavone is sold in health-food
stores in the US, it is used as a prescribed osteoporosis
treatment in Europe and Japan.
All of the women in the study took calcium
supplements.
By
the end of the study, there was no difference in bone density
between the ipriflavone supplemented and placebo groups.
And about 13% of women on the ipriflavone
developed lymphocytopenia,
a drop in white blood cells that, in most of these
cases, resolved after the women stopped taking ipriflavone.
Although earlier studies have suggested
ipriflavone does fight bone thinning, these findings suggest
that compared with other osteoporosis treatments,
ipriflavone offers little benefit.
The Journal
of the American Medical Association March 21, 2001;285:1482-1488
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