Treatment of Osteoporosis with Calcium Infusions an Osteodensitometric Study

Abstract

It has recently been suggested that osteoporosis results from an imbalance between the secretion of parathyroid hormone and thyrocalcitonin, resulting in a net loss of calcium, and that intermittent hypercalcaemia might reverse this imbalance. This hypothesis was tested in five women with postmenopausal osteoporosis by giving 12 calcium infusions on 12 consecutive days. The bone mineral content was measured by means of osteodensitometry, which was performed at regular intervals before, during, and after the infusions. The treatment did not result in any significant alteration in bone mineral content.

Key Words:

• Bone mineral content
• calcium
• osteodensitometry
• osteoporosis