title: Fluoride in the prevention of osteopenia: studies of the skeletal mass in calcium deficient rats.
abstract: Growing rats, five weeks old and weighing 80 g at the beginning of the experiment, during 30 weeks were given a normal diet and distilled water with, in one group, a fluoride supplement of 50 ppm. During this period all animals gained weight similarly. The skeletal mass of the fluoride treated animals became slightly but siginficantly larger than that of the controls. After 30 weeks half of the animals were given a calcium deficient diet for another 16 weeks. Osteopenia developed regardless of a simultaneous fluoride supplement. However, animals given fluoride during the initial 30 weeks only, did not lose bone during the subsequent period of calcium deficiency. Conceivably, fluoride could be a long-term preventative measure but should not be considered a therapeutic agent alone.
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001847:Bone Diseases / Q000517:prevention & control*; D001842:Bone and Bones / Q000032:analysis / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D002118:Calcium / Q000172:deficiency*; D005459:Fluorides / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008297:Male; D010015:Osteolysis, Essential / Q000517:prevention & control*; D051381:Rats
chemical_list: D005459:Fluorides; D002118:Calcium