Effects of prednisone and deflazacort on vertebral bone mass.

The effects of a 12-month therapeutic course of two different glucocorticoids, prednisone and deflazacort (an oxazoline derivative of prednisolone), on vertebral and femoral bone was analyzed by dual photon absorptiometry. The data, which reveal a significantly less bone loss with deflazacort (9.7% in 12 months) than with prednisone (21.4% in 12 months), further document the advantage of deflazacort as a glucocorticoid medication in subjects with osteopenic syndromes.