[Treatment of osteoporosis: current aspects and perspectives]

The risk of osteoporotic fractures is currently easily assessed by densitometry. The entities "osteopenia" and "osteoporosis" are less and less separated and, along the same line, it becomes somewhat arbitrary to separate "prevention" and "treatment" of osteoporosis when low bone mass has been diagnosed. An adequate calcium intake is most important in childhood and adolescence, pregnancy and lactation, and in the older population which, moreover, often suffers from vitamin D deficiency leading to cortical bone loss. Supplements of calcium and vitamin D to institutionalized elderly people could reduce by more than one third the risk of hip fractures. Estrogen replacement therapy remains the best means to prevent postmenopausal bone loss; too few women are treated but replacement therapy must be given for at least 7 years to keep a significant residual effect in the old age. Calcitonin has a proved analgesic effect for painful crush fractures and its long term administration can prevent postmenopausal trabecular bone loss. Nasal calcitonin considerably improves treatment tolerance and compliance but its price remains prohibitive. Etidronate is the only oral bisphosphonate available in Belgium. It can increase bone mass but its therapeutic index is too narrow and its antifracture efficacy has not been satisfactorily demonstrated. Pamidronate is a second generation bisphosphonate which has a much better therapeutic index but its usefulness is limited by the absence of an oral formulation. The introduction of third generation compounds will improve the therapeutic approach of osteoporosis if adequate therapeutic schemes are used. Much progress is also awaited concerning stimulators of osteoblastic activity.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)