Comparison of zinc excretion and biochemical markers of bone remodelling in the assessment of the effects of alendronate and calcitonin on bone in postmenopausal osteoporosis

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 determinate the clinical usefulness of urinary bone resorption markers, urinary zinc excretion, and other biochemical markers in postmenopausal women with osteoporosis.

The researchers also evaluated the effects of alendronate and calcitonin therapies on biochemical markers of bone remodeling and urinary zinc excretion over a 6-month period.

To assess bone resorption, the researchers measured excretion of cross-linked N-telopeptides of Type I collagen (uNTx); urinary zinc concentrations and standard chemistry determinations were also measured; and osteocalcin (sOC) was measured as a marker of bone formation.

Who Took Part

The abstract describes 45 patients taking part.

PubMed indexes the participants as middle-aged adults, women only.

How the Study Was Run

In design terms this was a randomized and placebo-controlled study.

Because people in this Calcitonin study were split into groups at random, differences between the groups are less likely to reflect who happened to join each one.

The comparison arm used a placebo, so changes seen with Calcitonin could be set against what happens without it.

The study design was a randomized placebo controlled study.

All parameters were measured before therapy and again after 1, 3, and 6 months in all groups.

What Was Measured

The subject headings attached to it are Alendronate, Biomarkers, Bone and Bones, Calcitonin, Osteocalcin, Osteoporosis, Postmenopausal and Zinc.

What This Means in Plain Language

The paper is a randomized and placebo-controlled study of Calcitonin in 45 patients in people with osteoporosis and bone density.

Its findings take up roughly 5 sentences of the abstract and are left out here on purpose; the source paper is the place to read them.

The publication is from 2005 (Clinical biochemistry), a journal based in United States.

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