A 5-Year Controlled Randomized Study of Prevention of Postmenopausal Trabecular Bone Loss with Nasal Salmon Calcitonin and Calcium

The aim of this paper was to evaluate the long-term (5 years) efficacy of nasal salmon calcitonin in prevention of trabecular postmenopausal bone loss, which was a follow-up of a previously published study (3 years); a randomized, controlled group comparison. One hundred healthy postmenopausal women were randomly chosen from those (186) having completed the 3 year protocol. The 100 women were allocated to an additional 2 year period (total of 5 years) of treatment with either 500 mg d-1, 5 days week-1 of calcium or the same amount of calcium plus 50 IU d-1, 5 days per week of nasal salmon calcitonin, 87 (87%) women complied with the protocol throughout. The main outcome measures were the bone mineral density of the lumbar spine (1-BMD) (DPA) and biochemical parameters reflecting bone turnover (serum alkaline phosphatases, urinary calcium/creatinine and hydroxyproline/creatinine ratios). The women receiving calcium alone presented a significant decrease in 1-BMD after 6 months [-1.6 (0.5)%] [mean(SEM)] (P < 0.01) and this decrease remained significant after 36 months [-6.1(0.8)%] (P < 0.01) and until the end of the trial [-6.6(1.0)% at t60] (P < 0.01). In women receiving calcium and calcitonin, 1-BMD significantly increased after 36 months [+2(0.7%] (P < 0.01) and 42 months [+2.5(0.7)%] (P < 0.01 and was unchanged at the other times of investigation [+1.1 (1.1)% at t60] (NS). The evolution of BMD in the two groups was highly significantly different (P < 0.001) since the sixth month of the study and remained so until the end of the study.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS

Prevalence and clinical features of Paget's disease of bone in Japan

The present study aimed to evaluate the prevalence and clinical presentation of Paget's disease of bone (PDB) in Japan. As PDB is a very rare disease in Japan, a nationwide mail survey was conducted targeting doctors in the specialty most frequently diagnosing and treating PDB patients in Japan. First, the literature for all case reports in Japan published between January 1990 and December 2002 was reviewed to determine who was diagnosing and treating PDB in Japan. This literature review for all case reports in Japan revealed that 72.1% of cases in Japan were reported from departments of orthopedic surgery. A nationwide two-phase mail survey was conducted for the departments of orthopedic surgery of 2320 general hospitals accredited by the Japanese Orthopaedic Association. Phase 1 involved determining how many patients with PDB were followed at each hospital. If the answer was one or more, phase 2 of the survey gathered information on the clinical presentation of current patients. The mail survey yielded a final response rate of 75.4% for phase 1 and 87.6% for phase 2. Phase 1 indicated that the prevalence of PDB in Japan is about 2.8 cases per million capita. Phase 2 revealed a slight female predominance, lower frequency of familial clustering, higher frequency of femoral fracture in the affected femur, and a higher ratio of symptomatic PDB in Japan compared with findings in countries displaying a higher prevalence of PDB. The present epidemiological study revealed that the disorder is extremely rare in Japanese individuals, and that some differences exist with regard to the clinical features of PDB between Japanese patients and patients from high-prevalence countries

Prevalence and clinical features of Paget's disease of bone in Japan.

The present study aimed to evaluate the prevalence and clinical presentation of Paget's disease of bone (PDB) in Japan. As PDB is a very rare disease in Japan, a nationwide mail survey was conducted targeting doctors in the specialty most frequently diagnosing and treating PDB patients in Japan. First, the literature for all case reports in Japan published between January 1990 and December 2002 was reviewed to determine who was diagnosing and treating PDB in Japan. This literature review for all case reports in Japan revealed that 72.1% of cases in Japan were reported from departments of orthopedic surgery. A nationwide two-phase mail survey was conducted for the departments of orthopedic surgery of 2,320 general hospitals accredited by the Japanese Orthopaedic Association. Phase 1 involved determining how many patients with PDB were followed at each hospital. If the answer was one or more, phase 2 of the survey gathered information on the clinical presentation of current patients. The mail survey yielded a final response rate of 75.4% for phase 1 and 87.6% for phase 2. Phase 1 indicated that the prevalence of PDB in Japan is about 2.8 cases per million capita. Phase 2 revealed a slight female predominance, lower frequency of familial clustering, higher frequency of femoral fracture in the affected femur, and a higher ratio of symptomatic PDB in Japan compared with findings in countries displaying a higher prevalence of PDB. The present epidemiological study revealed that the disorder is extremely rare in Japanese individuals, and that some differences exist with regard to the clinical features of PDB between Japanese patients and patients from high-prevalence countries