[Intranasal salmon calcitonin for the prophylaxis of bone mineral loss in steroid-treated chronic obstructive lung diseases ].

In the present controlled study the effect of calcitonin nasal spray (CAS 47931-85-1; Lachs-Calcitonin Nasal spray Sandoz) on the bone mineral content was investigated in 36 patients in need of corticosteroid therapy suffering from chronic, obstructive lung diseases. The treatment consisted of 200 IU intranasal daily and lasted for one year. In the control group there was a statistically significant decline of bone mineral content of 5% or 4.3% concerning the lumbar vertebrae L1-L4 and the femur, whereas in the treated group there was only a statistically not significant decrease of 0.9% and 0.8%, respectively. These findings show that calcitonin nasal spray in a dose of 200 IU daily is quite useful for the prophylaxis of steroid-induced osteoporosis.