Prevention of corticosteroid osteoporosis: a comparison of calcium, calcitriol, and calcitonin

Calcium supplements and the drug calcitriol may prevent bone loss and fractures of the spine in patients taking corticosteroids. Bone loss and subsequent fractures are common side effects of corticosteroids. Of 92 patients taking an average of 13.5 milligrams of corticosteroids each day, 29 also took calcium, 34 took calcium and calcitriol and 29 took calcium, calcitriol and calcitonin. The treatment lasted one year. During the treatment, bone loss in the lumbar spine was significantly reduced in the patients taking calcium and calcitriol, with or without calcitonin. However, all the patients continued to lose bone in the hip and wrist. For a year after the treatment was discontinued, bone loss in the spine continued to remain low in the patients who had taken calcium and calcitriol.