Fluoride Treatment of Osteoporosis: A New Look at an Old Drug

Excerpt

The morbidity and mortality from fractures attributable to eroded bone mass is a billion dollar problem affecting hundreds of thousands of men and women each year in the United States alone (1). As our citizens live longer, we can expect this problem to increase.

Fluoride has attracted attention as a therapeutic agent for osteoporosis because it is one of the most effective stimulators of new bone growth. The mechanisms by which fluoride induces new bone growth are not known. Fluoride is rapidly and extensively accumulated into bone mineral and teeth. X-ray crystallographic data show a stabilization by fluoride of the