Combined therapy with ascorbic acid and calcitonin for the relief of bone pain in Paget's disease

In a short trial, 24 patients with Paget's disease of the bone were treated for 2 weeks with either ascorbic acid and calcitonin in combination, or with calcitonin alone. Pain relief was then assessed subjectively by the patients and classified as nil, some, or a marked reduction in pain. There were 11 patients in the group on combined therapy and 73% of them experienced pain relief, compared with 85% of the 13 patients in the group on calcitonin alone. In the patients who experienced pain relief, however, 62% of those on the ascorbic acid and calcitonin combination claimed a marked relief of pain compared with only 36% of the patients who responded to calcitonin alone. These results indicate that when calcitonin and ascorbic acid are used in combination they may provide an increase in the extent of pain relief, but do not increase the total proportion of patients actually obtaining relief. Urinary hydroxyproline excretion was reduced in the calcitonin treated group, but there was little change in the patients on the combined therapy.