Bone Booster

Millions of Americans -- most often older women -- suffer to some degree from osteoporosis, the potentially crippling affliction that thins the bones and makes them susceptible to fractures. When the loss of bone occurs in the spine -- one of the most common sites -- patients may experience shortened stature, curvature of the back and pain in both the back and abdomen. Women who take calcium pills can sometimes prevent the onset or progression of the disease, but there has been no successful treatment for patients who have substantial bone loss.

Last week researchers at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas announced a promising new way of increasing bone density that seems to reverse the effects of spinal osteoporosis. The treatment relies on sodium fluoride, the chemical used by dentists to strengthen teeth and in toothpaste to prevent cavities. When the drug was tested years ago as a treatment for osteoporosis, it produced severe side effects like stomach bleeding, and while the fluoride caused bones to thicken, they were still easily broken. But the Texas researchers tried giving patients slow-dissolving fluoride pills that released the drug only after leaving the stomach. The fluoride was administered intermittently and with a calcium compound so that the new bone would form gradually and be strong. When the preparation was given to 251 women with spinal-bone loss, bone mass increased 3% to 6% a year and the frequency of vertebral fractures dropped significantly. Side effects were minor and occurred in only 5% of the patients. The treatment has not been shown to work for osteoporosis of the hip or wrist.