One year's treatment of Paget's disease of bone by synthetic salmon calcitonin as a nasal spray.

The effectiveness of synthetic salmon calcitonin (SCT) administered as a nasal spray was assessed via clinical, biological, and radiological variables in 17 previously untreated Pagetic patients over a 1-year course of therapy. The results showed a highly significant decrease of serum alkaline phosphatase (S-ALP) (p less than 0.05 after 1 month of treatment) and of the urinary hydroxyproline/creatinine ratio (OH/Cr) (p less than 0.01 after 1 month of treatment). For the whole group, the mean decrease in S-ALP was 37 +/- 4% (SEM) after 6 months (p less than 0.01) and 31 +/- 5% after 1 year (p less than 0.01). The mean fall in OH/Cr was 35 +/- 6% (SEM) (p less than 0.01) and 37 +/- 7% (p less than 0.01) after 6 and 12 months, respectively. None of the usual side-effects of SCT were reported and local tolerance was excellent throughout the study.