Effects of salmon calcitonin suppositories on bone mass and turnover in established osteoporosis

The objective of this study was to test the efficacy and safety of salmon calcitonin (sCT) suppository in post-menopausal women with previous hip fractures as an inhibitory agent of bone loss. The study was a single blind, randomized, and placebo-controlled trial comparing three parallel groups of patients. Fifty-four healthy women were randomly allocated to 1 year's treatment with either sCT 100 IU/6 times a week, 200 IU/3 times a week, or placebo/6 times a week. All groups received a calcium supplement of 500 mg daily. Fifteen patients left the study before its end, six of those due to adverse events, such as abdominal and rectal pain, nausea, headache, and diarrhea. Bone mineral density of the spine and the femoral neck was measured every 26 weeks, and biochemical markers of bone turnover were measured at baseline and week 12, 26, and 52. There were no significant changes in bone mineral density in the spine and in the hip in any of the treatment groups. No significant changes were observed in serum alkaline phosphatase, serum osteocalcin, urine hydroxyproline, and urine pyridinoline or deoxypyridinoline. Conclusively, we did not observe any significant effect on bone metabolism in women with postmenopausal osteoporosis after 1 year of treatment with sCT suppositories at the doses used.