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( Bisphosphonate)
In pharmacology, bisphosphonates (also called diphosphonates) are a class of drugs that inhibit osteoclast action and the resorption of bone. Its uses include the prevention and treatment of osteoporosis, osteitis deformans ("Paget's disease of bone"), bone metastasis (with or without hypercalcaemia), multiple myeloma and other conditions that feature bone fragility. Bisphosphonates were developed in the 19th century, but were first investigated in the 1960s for use in disorders of bone metabolism. Their non-medical use included water softening in irrigation systems used in orange groves. The initial rationale for their use in humans was their potential in preventing the dissolution of hydroxylapatite, the principal bone mineral, and hence arresting bone loss. Only in the 1990s was their actual mechanism of action demonstrated.[1] All bisphosphonate drugs share a common P-C-P "backbone" The two PO3 (phosphate) groups covalently linked to carbon determine both the name "bisphosphonate" and the function of the drugs.
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