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Total and regional bone mineral content and fracture rate in postmenopausal osteoporosis treated with salmon calcitonin: A prospective study

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Abstract

Seventy-two postmenopausal osteoporotic women having more than one nontraumatic vertebral crush fracture were studied. Thirty-six of them, aged 68.8±1.2 years (18±4 YSM-years since menopause), were treated with 100 IU/day of salmon calcitonin i.m. plus 500 mg of elemental calcium for 10 days each month. The remaining 36 patients, aged 69.6±1.4 years (19±3 YSM), were given only 500 mg of elemental calcium for 10 days each month. All patients underwent clinical and analytical evaluation every 3 months. Radiological evaluation, assessment of vertebral deformities, and metacarpal radiogrammetry were done every 6 months. Densitometric measurements of total and regional bone mass were made every 12 months. At 24 months, the calcitonin group showed a 60% reduction in the number of new fractures and the group receiving only calcium had a 45% increase (P<0.001). The incidence of vertebral fractures was 0.07 per patient-year in the group treated with calcitonin and 0.45 per patient-year in the group treated with calcium (P<0.001). At 2 years, the calcitonin group showed a 12% increase in cortical bone mass on metacarpal radiogrammetry, a 16% increase in the axial skeleton on trunk densitometry, a 3.5% increase in total body bone mineral content, a 30.7% increase in pelvic bone mineral content, and a 6.2% increase in arm bone mineral content (all P<0.001). In the group treated with calcium alone there was a loss of bone mass in every region. These findings suggest that salmon calcitonin is effective in the treatment of osteoporosis and show that it acts on cortical and trabecular bone.

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Article Open access 01 July 2023

Enisa Shevroja, Jean-Yves Reginster, … Nicholas C. Harvey

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Medicine, University Hospital of Alcalá de Henares, 28801, Madrid, Spain

    H. Rico, M. Revilla, E. R. Hernández, L. F. Villa & M. Alvarez de Buergo

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  1. H. Rico
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  2. M. Revilla
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  3. E. R. Hernández
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  4. L. F. Villa
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  5. M. Alvarez de Buergo
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Rico, H., Revilla, M., Hernández, E.R. et al. Total and regional bone mineral content and fracture rate in postmenopausal osteoporosis treated with salmon calcitonin: A prospective study. Calcif Tissue Int 56, 181–185 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00298606

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00298606

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