Increase of axial and appendicular trabecular and cortical bone density in established osteoporosis with intermittent nasal salmon calcitonin therapy

What Was Tested

This randomized controlled trial paper looks at Calcitonin in the context of osteoporosis and bone density.

The aim of this study was to examine the effect of intranasal administration of salmon calcitonin to a group of 24 postmenopausal women with severe, established osteoporosis (t score < -2.5 SD) and more than one vertebral fracture.

Who Took Part

The study group was 24 women.

By PubMed's age tags, the people studied were middle-aged adults, women only.

The patients were compared with an age matched control group of 18 women of a similar clinical status who were treated with calcium and vitamin D only.

How the Study Was Run

In design terms this was a randomized and pilot study.

Random assignment meant chance, not the researchers, decided who got Calcitonin and who got the comparison, which limits bias.

It is described as a pilot, a small early test of whether a larger Calcitonin study would be practical.

What Was Measured

The subject headings attached to it are Amino Acids, Analgesics, Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal, Arm, Biomarkers, Bone Density and Bone Resorption.

What This Means in Plain Language

The paper is a randomized and pilot study of Calcitonin in 24 women in people with osteoporosis and bone density.

With fewer than 40 people, it is a small study, so it is better read as an early signal for further research than as a settled answer.

The publication is from 1999 (Gynecological endocrinology : the official journal of the International Society of Gynecological Endocrinology), a journal based in England.

More context: the Calcitonin compound page, Osteoporosis and bone density research.