Fluorinated butyric acid compounds and derivatives are described as well as acid methods for the preparation and pharmaceutical compositions of same, which are useful as inhibitors of matrix metalloproteinases, particularly gelatinase A (72 kD gelatinase) and stromelysin-1, and also collagenase, matrilysin, and MMP-13, and for the treatment of multiple sclerosis, atherosclerotic plaque rupture, aortic aneurism, heart failure, restenosis, periodontal disease, corneal ulceration, treatment of burns, decubital ulcers, wound healing, cancer, inflammation, pain, arthritis, or other autoimmune or inflammatory disorders dependent upon tissue invasion by leukocytes or other activated migrating cells, acute and chronic neurodegenerative disorders including stroke, head trauma, spinal cord injury, Alzheimer's disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, cerebral amyloid angiopathy, AIDS, Parkinson's disease, Huntington's disease, prion diseases, myasthenia gravis, and Duchenne's muscular dystrophy.