Bisphosphonates in bone diseases other than osteoporosis.

The range of bone diseases in which bisphosphonates are used has extended far beyond osteoporosis during the last few years. Bisphosphonate therapy is now so well validated as to be the reference standard in Paget's disease and in the prevention of bone complications related to malignant osteolysis. Promising preliminary findings warrant the use of bisphosphonates in conditions that are either rare (fibrous dysplasia) or severe (pediatric osteogenesis imperfecta). The third category of indications encompasses many conditions in which the limited available data do not warrant widespread use: examples include reflex sympathetic dystrophy syndrome, acute back pain after a vertebral crush fracture, and chronic inflammatory joint disease not treated by glucocorticoids.