Bone
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Comparative Study Clinical Trial
Marked decrease in trabecular bone quality after five years of sodium fluoride therapy--assessed by biomechanical testing of iliac crest bone biopsies in osteoporotic patients.
Sodium fluoride has for more than 2 decades been a commonly used therapeutic agent for established osteoporosis because of a repeatedly documented anabolic effect on trabecular bone mass. Recently, however, three controlled trials have failed to demonstrate any therapeutic advantage of NaF over placebo with respect to vertebral fracture rate. Also, there have been several reports of an increased incidence of nonvertebral fractures during fluoride administration. ⋯ After 1 year of treatment, no difference was observed in iliac crest trabecular bone ash content. A general trend for decreased bone strength and bone quality was observed, but this was insignificant. After 5 years of fluoride treatment, an insignificant decrease in iliac crest trabecular bone ash content was observed.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)