Densitometric analysis in in vivo evaluation of synthetic salmon calcitonin activity

In women suffering from post-menopausal osteoporosis, we evaluated the effectiveness of two cyclic treatments with synthetic salmon calcitonin over a whole year, using an average daily dose of 16 and 32 IU, respectively. This treatment was compared with treatment with oral calcium carbonate. The results, evaluated by peripheral densitometry of the radius, showed a 3.2% loss of bone mineral content (BMC) in the women treated only with calcium carbonate, a loss of 1% in those treated with an average dose of 16 IU/day of calcitonin and an increase of 4% in the women treated with an average dose of 32 IU/day (an increase just above the statistically significant limit using the paired t-test). An average dose of 32 IU/day probably represents the minimum effective dose of calcitonin required to produce a significant increase in bone mineral mass, when used according to a sequential scheme.