Treatment of Paget's disease with (3-amino-1-hydroxypropylidene)-1, 1-bisphosphonate (A.P.D.)

18 patients with Paget's disease were treated orally with (3-amino-1-hydroxypropylidene)-1, 1-bisphosphonate (A.P.D.). In most cases bone resorption became normal within a week of treatment, whereas the return to normal bone formation took 3-6 months; this difference produced a transient imbalance between resorption and formation. In biopsy specimens taken during treatment the numbers of osteoclasts and osteoblasts decreased towards normal and excess osteoid disappeared.