Objective To investigate if there is continuous effect on bone mineral density (BMD) in postmenopausal osteoporosis in Chinese women who received an injection of parathyroid hormone related protein (PTHrP ) 1-34 for 6 months and then stopped and followed up for 18 months (24 months from baseline). Methods Thirty-two Chinese postmenopausal osteoporosis women who met the inclusion criteria and without the exclusion conditions were investigated as treatment group, they were all treated with PTHrP 1-34 20μg, Alfacalcidol 0.5μg and 600 mg elementary calcium daily. Another twenty-six patients with matched age and gender served as controls, they received Alfacalcidol 0.5μg and elementary calcium 600 mg daily only. All drugs were given for 6 months and then discontinued for 18 months. BMD changes were compared between the treatment group and the control group at 6 months after treatment and 18 months after drug withdrawal. Results 6 months after receiving PTH treatment, the changes of BMD were 1.115±3.711% at the lumbar spine, - 0.498±2.871% at total hip and 0.127±4.912% at neck of femur in the treatment group; in contrast in the control group the changes were -1.773±2.626% at lumbar spine, -1.255±3.02% at total hip and 1.959±4.065% at neck of femur (P<0.05 for lumbar spine, and P>0.05 for hip and femoral neck comparing between the two group). At 18 months after PTH treatment completed, in the treatment group BMD increased by 2.210±8.171% at lumbar spine, decreased by 0.734±4.266% at total hip and decreased by 1.854±4.184% at femur neck compared with baseline; in the control group, BMD decreased by 2.004±5.065% at lumbar spine, by 3.271±3.003% at total hip and by 2.704±2.659% at femur neck (P<0.05 for lumbar spine and total hip, and P>0.05 for femoral neck comparing between the two groups). About 68.75% (22/32) vs 19.24% (5/26) (P<0.05) at lumbar spine, 56.25% (18/32) vs 15.38%(4/26) (P<0.05) at total hip and 37.5% (12/32) vs 19.24%(5/26) (P>0.05) at femur neck whose BMD was higher than baseline in treatment group compared with controls after completing rPTH 1-34 injection for 18 months. There were no serious adverse reactions during the study. Conclusion After injection of PTH for 6 months, the benefit on BMD of lumbar spine and total hip could last for 18 months, it shows that injection of rPTH1-34 for 6 months is an effective method in the treatment of osteoporosis in Chinese postmenopausal women. |