Human calcitonin in the management of osteoporosis: a multicentre study.

In a multicentre open trial 530 patients suffering from primary osteoporosis, secondary osteoporosis and Sudeck's disease were enrolled to assess synthetic human calcitonin efficacy on bone pain relief. Spontaneous pain, pain on movement, provoked pain, functional impairment and patient's assessment were recorded. During the first 30 days of treatment, all the parameters significantly improved (p less than 0.01) and the tolerability was satisfactory. Four hundred and ten patients entered a follow-up study, this number gradually decreasing over a 6-month period due to a satisfactory outcome. Efficacy on bone pain remained very high in most of the patients, many of whom continued to improve. These results suggest that synthetic human calcitonin is highly effective on pain and functional impairment in bone disease and is well tolerated.