Patent ID: 7071178

Claim:
A method for the treatment of osteoporosis comprising administering to a patient in need thereof an effective amount of a compound of the formula I wherein X represents hydrogen or hydroxy; Y represents oxygen or sulphur or oxidized sulphur selected from the groups S(O) and S(O 2 ); R 1 and R 2 , which may be the same or different, represent hydrogen or a residue after removal of 1 hydrogen atom from a straight, branched or cyclic, saturated or unsaturated, C 1 –C 6 -hydrocarbon; or R 1 and R 2 , together with the carbon atom to which they are attached (marked with an asterisk in formula I), bearing the group X, form a C 3 –C 8 carbocyclic ring; Q represents a diradi-cal residue after removal of 2 hydrogen atoms from a straight, branched or cyclic, saturated or unsaturated C 1 –C 8 -hydrocarbon; R 3 represents hydrogen or a residue after removal of 1 hydrogen atom from a straight, branched or cyclic, saturated or unsaturated C 1 –C 6 -hydrocarbon; R 1 , R 2 and/or Q is optionally substituted with one or more deuterium or fluorine atoms; and n is 0 or 1; and derivatives of the compounds of formula I in which one or more hydroxy groups have been transformed into —O-acyl or —O-glycosyl groups, or a phosphate ester, such masked groups being hydrolyzable in vivo; or administering to a patient in need thereof an effective amount of a compound of formula Ia wherein R 1 , R 2 , and Q have the meanings specified above; m=0, 1 or 2; and n=1.