Treatment of skeletal disorders

This invention relates to methods for treating bone loss in a mammal by administering to the mammal a therapeutically effective amount of leptin or a leptin mimetic. This invention also relates to methods for treating bone fracture, enhancing bone healing following facial reconstruction, maxillary reconstruction or madibular reconstruction, enhancing long bone extension, enhancing the healing rate of a bone graft, enhancing prosthetic growth and inducing vertebral synostosis by administering a therapeutically effective amount of leptin or a leptin mimetic. This invention further relates to methods and compositions comprising leptin or a leptin mimetic and estrogen, a selective estrogen receptor modulator or a bisphonate for treating the above-recited diseases and conditions.