Idiopathic juvenile osteoporosis.

Osteoporosis is the most common bone disease in adults, but rarely occurs in children. A seven year old boy with idiopathic juvenile osteoporosis is reported. X-ray investigation revealed moderate generalized osteoporosis with compression fractures and wedging of the thoracic and lumbar vertebral bodies. Clinical examination and biochemical investigations ruled out the known causes of osteoporosis in childhood. During the following four years he complained of back pain, but no new fractures appeared. Entering puberty he improved both clinically and radiologically without treatment.