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Because the balance between potential benefits and risks of bisphosphonates becomes less clear after extended use, some authorities recommend interrupting bisphosphonate therapy after about 5 years. However, the best way to follow patients who discontinue these drugs is unknown. In this post hoc analysis, investigators examined fracture data from the Fracture Intervention Trial Long-Term Extension Trial in which postmenopausal women who took alendronate for 5 years were randomized to 5 additional years of alendronate or placebo. All participants underwent assessments of bone-mineral density (BMD) and two markers of bone metabolism (urinary type 1 collagen cross-linked N-telopeptide [NTX] and serum bone-specific alkaline phosphatase [BAP]) a…