Does 1,25(OH)2D3 accelerate spinal bone loss? A controlled therapeutic trial in 70-year-old women

The progress of spinal bone loss was monitored by measurements of the vertebral body height of T6 to L5 in seventy 70-year-old women who participated in a controlled, double-blind therapeutic trial. They were treated for one year by 1,25(OH)2D3, 0.50 micrograms a day (or less if hypercalcemia occurred) and cyclical estrogen/gestagen, alone or combined, or placebo. Sufficient calcium intake was ensured in all. The vertebral body height decreased significantly, by 1%, in both of the 1,25(OH)2D3 groups, whereas it remained unchanged in the hormone and the placebo + calcium group. This observation does not encourage the use of 1,25(OH)2D3 for prevention or treatment of postmenopausal bone loss.