Patent ID: 7491711

Claim:
A method for treating osteoporosis or hyperparathyroidism in a patient comprising administering a 3-desoxy vitamin D 3 analog to the patient, wherein said 3-desoxy vitamin D 3 analog is of the formula: or a salt thereof, wherein dotted line is optionally a double bond; L is a linker selected from the group consisting of: —CH 2 —CH 2 —CH 2 —, —CH 2 —CH═CH—, —CH 2 —C≡C—, —CH 2 —CH 2 —C(═O)—, and —CH═CH—CH═CH—; each of R 1 and R 4 is selected from the group consisting of hydrogen or alkyl; and each of R 2 and R 3 is independently selected from the group consisting of alkyl or haloalkyl, or R 2 and R 3 and together with the carbon atom to which they are attached to form a cycloalkyl.