Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Randomized Controlled Trial
. 2018 Mar;29(3):723-732.
doi: 10.1007/s00198-017-4351-2. Epub 2017 Dec 23.

Stimulation of intestinal calcium absorption by orally administrated vitamin D3 compounds: a prospective open-label randomized trial in osteoporosis

K Uenishi  1 , M Tokiwa  2 , S Kato  3   4 , M Shiraki  5
Affiliations
Randomized Controlled Trial

Stimulation of intestinal calcium absorption by orally administrated vitamin D3 compounds: a prospective open-label randomized trial in osteoporosis

K Uenishi et al. Osteoporos Int. 2018 Mar.

Erratum in

Abstract

Intestinal fractional calcium absorption (FCA) was assessed before and after vitamin D3 treatment. Serum 1,25(OH)2D concentration was significantly increased by plain vitamin D3 and reduced by eldecalcitol. The 1α hydroxyl calcidiol and eldecalcitol treatments increased FCA, which may be induced through direct stimulation of vitamin D receptors in the intestine.

Introduction: To assess the effects of vitamin D3 compounds on intestinal FCA and calcium-regulating hormones in post-menopausal osteoporosis, a randomized open-label prospective study was conducted.

Methods: Forty eligible patients were allocated randomly into four groups: eldecalcitol (ELD; 0.75 μg/day), 1α hydroxyl calcidiol (ALF; 1 μg/day), plain vitamin D3 (800 IU/day), and control. Before and after the 4-week treatment, intestinal FCA was estimated by using a double isotope method, and serum concentrations of calcium-regulating hormones and a bone turnover marker were measured.

Results: The baseline FCA value of the participants was 21.5 ± 7.9% (mean ± SD) and was significantly correlated with serum 1,25(OH)2D (calcitriol) concentration. After the treatment, the FCA significantly increased by 59.5% (95% CI, 41.6 to 77.4%) in the ELD group and by 45.9% (27.9 to 63.8%) in the ALF group, whereas no significant change in the plain vitamin D3 group was found. Unlike the baseline FCA, post-treatment FCA exhibited no significant correlation with serum calcitriol concentration. Parathyroid hormone levels were suppressed by ALF and plain vitamin D3 but were sustained in the ELD and control groups. Serum calcitriol tended to be suppressed by ELD, whereas plain vitamin D3 treatment increased both serum 25(OH)D and calcitriol concentrations.

Conclusion: These findings suggest that oral administration of vitamin D3 analogues (ALF and ELD) stimulates FCA but plain vitamin D3 does not. Those effects of vitamin D3 compounds on FCA were independent of serum calcitriol concentration, suggesting that ALF and ELD may directly stimulate intestinal vitamin D receptors.

Keywords: Alfacalcidol; Eldecalcitol; Intestinal calcium absorption; Plain vitamin D3; Serum vitamin D concentration.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Masataka Shiraki received personal fees from Chugai Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. during the study and advisory fees from Teijin Pharma Co. and Asahi-kasei Pharma Co. Kazuhiro Uenishi received personal fees from Chugai Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. during the study. Makio Tokiwa is an employee of IDD Co. Shigeaki Kato declares no conflict of interest.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Relationship between serum concentration of calcitriol and fractional calcium absorption (FCA) at baseline (a) and after the 4-week treatment (b). A significant correlation between them was observed at baseline (p = 0.0056) but not after treatment (p = 0.8437). ELD, eldecalcitol; ALF, alfacalcidol
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Ohta H, Uenishi K, Shiraki M. Recent nutritional trends of calcium and vitamin D in East Asia. Osteoporos Sarcopenia. 2016;2(4):208–213. doi: 10.1016/j.afos.2016.08.002. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Uenishi K, Ishida H, Kamei A, Shiraki M, Ezawa I, Goto S, Fukuoka H, Hosoi T, Orimo H. Calcium requirement estimated by balance study in elderly Japanese people. Osteoporosis Int. 2001;12(10):858–863. doi: 10.1007/s001980170037. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Ohta H, Uemura Y, Nakamura T, Fukunaga M, Ohashi Y, Hosoi T, Mori S, Sugimoto T, Itoi E, Orimo H, Shiraki M, Adequate Treatment of Osteoporosis (A-TOP) Research Group Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D level as an independent determinant of quality of life in osteoporosis with high risk of fracture. Clin Ther. 2014;36(2):225–235. doi: 10.1016/j.clinthera.2013.12.007. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Tanaka S, Kuroda T, Yamazaki Y, Shiraki Y, Yoshimura N, Shiraki M. Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D below 25 ng/mL is a risk factor for long bone fracture comparable to bone mineral density in Japanese postmenopausal women. J Bone Miner Metab. 2014;32(5):514–523. doi: 10.1007/s00774-013-0520-3. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Norman AW. Intestinal calcium absorption: a vitamin D-hormone-mediated adaptive response. Am J Clin Nutr. 1990;51(2):290–300. doi: 10.1093/ajcn/51.2.290. - DOI - PubMed

Publication types

MeSH terms

LinkOut - more resources