Changes in total body calcium and sodium in osteomalacia.

Serial measurements were made of total body calcium and sodium, using whole body neutron activation analysis, in six patients being treated for osteomalacia. All showed a rise in total body calcium ranging from 3 to 30%; this continued for up to 24 months after the start of treatment, though complete healing had apparently occurred after 6 months on the basis of histological examination of biopsy specimens of bone. As the total body calcium rose there was a fall in the non-exchangeable sodium pool in bone.