(18)F-Fluoride PET in Osteoporosis.

An assessment of bone turnover at specific sites of the skeleton would allow a better understanding of the pathophysiology of osteoporosis and the direct effects of drugs on bone turnover at common osteoporotic fracture sites. (18)F-Fluoride PET provides a noninvasive method for the assessment of regional bone perfusion and turnover, and offers important advantages over conventional techniques. (18)F-Fluoride PET has been used to examine bone turnover in patients with osteoporosis and other metabolic bone disorders, to compare bone perfusion and turnover between skeletal sites, to assess novel therapies being developed for the treatment of osteoporosis, and to examine the fracture healing process. (18)F-Fluoride PET may also have a role in diagnosis of bone turnover abnormalities in patients with renal osteodystrophy. (18)F-Fluoride PET now has an established role as a research technique, and there is clearly a need for further studies to fully examine its potential role in the assessment of the pathophysiology of osteoporosis and the evaluation of novel pharmaceutical treatments for this and other metabolic bone disorders.