[Therapy of senile osteoporosis using sodium fluoride--continuous and intermittent long-term therapy]

To evaluate a therapeutic effect, biochemical parameters of bone metabolism and photonabsorption densitometry have been compared in patients with senile osteoporosis under long-term continuous or intermittent sodium fluoride treatment. A comparable increase of trabecular bone density is found after continuous and intermittent therapy for at least one year. The well-known effect of defective mineralization under long-term continuous therapy with sodium fluoride corresponds to a statistically significant increase in urinary hydroxyproline and calcium excretion and a trend towards a rise in serum alkaline phosphatase in this study. Similar findings cannot be observed in patients on intermittent sodium fluoride treatment. The increase in bone density without concomitant changes in biochemical parameters suggests a beneficial therapeutic effect without biochemical evidence for defective mineralization.