Oral calcium effectively reduces parathyroid hormone levels in hemodialysis patients: a randomized double-blind placebo-controlled study

What Was Tested

This randomized controlled trial paper looks at Parathyroid Hormone (PTH 1-84).

The objective of this study was to elucidate the effect of oral calcium supplement upon the severity of secondary hyperparathyroidism and hyperphosphatemia in patients undergoing hemodialysis.

Why It Was Studied

Three patients dropped out leaving 10 patients in each group.

Who Took Part

The study group was 10 patients.

PubMed indexes the participants as adults, middle-aged adults and older adults, both men and women.

How the Study Was Run

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

Random assignment meant chance, not the researchers, decided who got Parathyroid Hormone (PTH 1-84) and who got the comparison, which limits bias.

Neither the patients nor the staff measuring them knew who was on Parathyroid Hormone (PTH 1-84), so expectations could not easily colour the readings.

A placebo (an inactive look-alike) gave the Parathyroid Hormone (PTH 1-84) group a baseline to be compared against.

The methods mention a period of 6 months.

What Was Measured

The subject headings attached to it are Calcium, Calcium, Dietary, Hyperparathyroidism, Secondary, Kidney Failure, Chronic, Parathyroid Hormone, Phosphates and Renal Dialysis.

What This Means in Plain Language

The paper is a randomized, double-blind and placebo-controlled study of Parathyroid Hormone (PTH 1-84) in 10 patients over 6 months.

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 1993 (Nephron), a journal based in Switzerland.

More context: the Parathyroid Hormone (PTH 1-84) compound page, all human trials.