Fifty years of impact on treating bone disease: a commentary on Gasser et al.

Abstract

The precise control of whole-body calcium is essential for the maintenance of normal physiological function. Disruptions in calcium homeostasis can lead to pathology including osteoporosis, kidney stone formation, and cardiac arrythmias. During the 1960s and early 1970s, a full understanding of calcium metabolism was still emerging. This commentary spotlights a seminal Clinical Science paper published in 1972 that significantly advanced the field and contributed to the eventual approval of bisphosphonate drugs commonly used to treat postmenopausal osteoporosis, cancer metastases, and other calcium disorders.