View article

Small increases in bone mass are commonly seen with existing treatments for osteoporosis, which reduce bone remodelling and primarily prevent bone loss. Since these drugs reduce but do not eliminate risk of fractures, an anabolic agent that would increase bone mass and potentially cure the underlying skeletal problem is needed.

We did a 3-year randomised controlled trial to find out the effects of 1–34 human parathyroid hormone (hPTH [1–34], 400 U/25 μg daily subcutaneously) in postmenopausal women with osteoporosis taking hormone-replacement therapy (n=17). The controls were women taking hormone-replacement therapy only (n=17). The primary outcome was bone-mineral density of the lumbar vertebrae, with bone-mineral density at other sites and vertebral fractures as secondary endpoints.

Patients taking hormone-replacement therapy and PTH (1–34) had …