The effect of clodronate (dichloromethylene bisphosphonate) on fluoride kinetics during a 30-day treatment in the rat.

Clodronate (dichloromethylene bisphosphonate) is one of the bisphosphonate drugs preventing the precipitation of calcium phosphates from solution in vitro and inhibiting ectopic calcification and the mineralisation and resorption of bone in vivo. The aim of the experiment was to study the effect of clodronate on fluoride (F) turnover in relation to the concentration of clodronate in blood. The experiment was carried out as a 30-day metabolic study on rats. For all animals the fluoride concentration of drinking water was 5 mg/l. In addition the animals in the experimental group received 10 mg/kg clodronate in one daily subcutaneous injection. The bone and serum mineral concentrations were within the normal range for all animals. The amount of F excreted in urine was also within the same range in the control and test groups in either sex. The amount of clodronate excreted was similar for both sexes. Thus clodronate does not appear to influence fluoride kinetics.