Formation-stimulating regimens other than sodium fluoride.

Although no bone formation-stimulating regimen has been approved for treatment of established osteoporosis, there are a number of potentially effective drugs that are in various stages of preclinical and clinical testing. The two that show the greatest potential and the ones most likely to become available initially for clinical treatment are a parathyroid hormone fragment, PTH(1-34), and insulin-like growth factor-I. A promising approach for the future is to discover orally active agents that enhance the local production of growth factors by bone cells. It is likely that effective formation-stimulating regimens will become available for treating established osteoporosis within the next 5 years.