Osteoblast numbers after calcitonin therapy: a retrospective study of paired biopsies obtained during long-term calcitonin therapy in postmenopausal osteoporosis

The present study is a retrospective examination of osteoblast indices in human iliac crest bone biopsies from a study on the long-term efficacy of calcitonin. Paired baseline and 2-year biopsies were examined from eight control subjects and 10 treated subjects; treated subjects received 100 MRC units synthetic salmon calcitonin (Calcimar, Armour Pharmaceutical Co, Scottsdale, AZ) injected i.m. sub Q at bedtime. Control patients did not receive a placebo injection. All subjects received 400 units vitamin D₂ p.o. q.d. and 1200 mg CaCO₃ p.o. q.d. When the differences in baseline and 2-year values were analyzed, subjects receiving calcitonin showed no decrease compared with control subjects for the fraction of osteoid surface lined by osteoblasts (ObS/OS) (but were in fact significantly greater, P= 0.04). There was no difference from control subjects in the number of osteoblasts/mm bone surface (NOb/BPm), or mean mineral apposition rate (MAR). Since calcitonin is receiving renewed interest for osteoporosis therapy, these data (derived from paired human biopsies) are valuable since they show that no decrease in osteoblast cell number resulted from long-term calcitonin therapy. Results point to the need for renewed investigation concerning the effect of calcitonin on osteoblast-osteoclast interactions. Received: 5 January 1999 / Accepted: 1 July 1999