Short term clodronate treatment does not increase trabecular bone in posttraumatic osteopenia

The paper describes the results of two experiments on clodronate treatment on bone metabolism in growing rabbits: 1. the serum and bone concentrations of the drug, and 2. the effects of 18 week clodronate treatment on quantitative histomorphometry of trabecular bone. The results indicated a rapid and high affinity of clodronate to bone after subcutaneous administration. Plate fixation of the tibia without a fracture or any operation on the femur induced a 25% decrease in bone volume per total volume in the femoral condyles. The osteopenic response resulted probably from operative trauma. Clodronate treatment for three months could not inhibit this decrease. The increase in calcium content in bone by the drug treatment (observed in diaphyseal bones in earlier studies) could not be verified on histology of trabecular bone.