Methods of treating diseases with certain geminal diphosphonates

A method for treating a non-inflammatory disease characterized by abnormal calcium and phosphate metabolism selected from the group consisting of osteoporosis, Paget's disease, hyperparathyroidism, hypercalcemia of malignancy, osteolytic bone metastases, myositis ossificans progressiva and calcinosis universalis, comprising administering to a human or animal in need of such treatment a safe and effective amount of a pharmaceutical composition comprising from about 0.1 mg P to about 600 mg P of a geminal diphosphonic acid compound, or a pharmaceutically-acceptable salt or ester thereof, having the structure:

• ##STR3## wherein Z is a 6-membered aromatic ring containing one or more nitrogen atoms;
• m +n is an integer from 0 to about 5;
• R.sub.1 is hydrogen, substituted or unsubstituted amino, amido, hydroxy, alkoxy, halogen, carboxylate, substituted or unsubstituted, saturated or unsaturated alkyl having from 1 to about 6 carbon atoms, substituted or unsubstituted aryl, or substituted or unsubstituted benzyl, except that when n =0, then R.sub.1 is hydrogen, substituted or unsubstituted, saturated or unsaturated alkyl having from 1 to about 6 carbon atoms, substituted or unsubstituted aryl, or substituted or unsubstituted benzyl;
• R.sub.2 is hydrogen, or substituted or unsubstituted, saturated or unsaturated alkyl having from 1 to about 4 carbon atoms;
• R.sub.3 is one or more substituents selected from the group consisting of hydrogen, substituted and unsubstituted, saturated or unsaturated alkyl having from 1 to about 6 carbon atoms, substituted and unsubstituted aryl, substituted and unsubstituted benzyl, hydroxy, halogen, carbonyl, alkoxy, nitro, amido, amino, substituted amino, carboxylate, and combinations thereof.