Sodium fluoride in the treatment of osteoporosis.

Twenty-five patients treated with sodium fluoride, calcium, and Vitamin D (183 person-years of observation) and 24 patients treated with calcium and Vitamin D alone (107 person-years of observation) were compared. The incidence of vertebral fracture was reduced (p less than 0.01) only in the 8 fluoride treated patients who developed radiographic fluorosis. These 8 patients were younger and closer to menopause than those who did not develop fluorosis. Femoral fracture could not be shown to be related to fluoride treatment, but interval from menopause and fall in metacarpal index were found to be useful predictors of this event.