COMBINED TREATMENT WITH CALCITONIN AND 1,25-DIHYDROXYVITAMIN D(3) FOROSTEOPOROSIS IN WOMEN

Twenty-two middle-aged women with severe osteoporosis were treated for 2 years with either 0.5 mg of synthetic human calcitonin subcutaneous ly three times per week combined with 0.5 mug of calcitriol and 0.5 g of calcium per day orally or calcium only. The treatment with calciton in plus calcitriol (12 patients) resulted in a significantly increased calcium absorption rate. The mean values for serum phosphate did not change during the treatment period and the mean values did not differ between the treatment groups, but the serum calcium and urinary Ca/Cr ratio increased somewhat in the group given the combined treatment. Th ere was no evidence that the combined treatment improved the bone dens ity in this study. It is possible that calcitriol, instead of increasi ng the effect of calcitonin by suppression of the parathyroid, might h ave counteracted its effect by increasing the bone resorption.