The effects of alfacalcidol combined with calcitonin in the treatment of osteoporosis and its influence on levels of inflammation

Abstract

Objective: To investigate the effectiveness of Alfacalcidol combined with Calcitonin in the treatment of osteoporosis and its influence on the degree of pain, bone metabolism indexes, bone mineral density and inflammatory factor levels.

Methods: In this retrospective study, 110 patients with osteoporosis treated in The Second Affiliated Hospital of Shandong First Medical University from January 2019 to June 2021 were selected as the study subjects. According to different treatment methods, these patients were divided into an observation group and a control group with 55 cases in each group. Patients from the control group were treated with the alfacalcidol capsules alone, while those from the observation group were treated with the alfacalcidol capsules combined with intramuscular calcitonin injection. Patients in both groups were treated for 6 months continuously. The treatment effect, visual analogue scale (VAS) score and Oswestry disability index (ODI), bone mineral density (BMD), serum markers levels such as calcium (Ca), phosphorus (P), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase-5b (TRACP-5b), insulin-like growth factor (IGF-1), type I procollagen amino terminal propeptide (PINP) and β-collagen special sequence (β-Crosslaps), the levels of inflammatory factor including interleukin-6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), quality Life Questionnaire Core 30 (QLQ-C30) scores and incidences of adverse reactions were evaluated and compared between the two groups.

Results: The effective rate of patients in the observation group was 90.91%, which was significantly higher than 74.54% in the control group (P<0.05). There was no significant difference in the term of VAS score, ODI score, serum markers levels, bone mineral density, inflammatory levels, QLQ-C30 before treatment between the two groups. Compared with the control group, the post-treatment VAS score, ODI score, the levels of IL-6, TNF-α, TRACP-5b, PINP and β-Crosslaps in the observation group were obviously lower, while the post-treatment QLQ-C30, bone mineral density, Ca, P, ALP, IGF-1 levels were significantly higher (all P<0.05). No statistical differences were found in the incidences of adverse reactions between the two groups (P>0.05).

Conclusion: The combination of Alfacalcidol combined with Calcitonin is effective in the treatment of osteoporosis patients, which can effectively improve the levels of bone metabolism indexes and bone mineral density, alleviate the symptoms, enhance the life quality and reduce the levels of inflammation. Therefore, it is worth promoting.

Keywords: Osteoporosis; alfacalcidol; calcitonin; curative effects; inflammatory factors.

Figure 1

Comparison of VAS and ODI scores between the two groups. A: VAS scores. B: ODI scores. Compared with before treatment, ***P<0.001; Compared with the control group after treatment, ##P<0.01. VAS: visual analogue scale. ODI: Oswestry disability index.

Figure 2

Comparison of TNF-α and IL-6 levels between the two groups. A: The level of TNF-α. B: The level of IL-6. Compared with before treatment, ***P<0.001; Compared with the control group after treatment, ##P<0.01. IL-6: Interleukin-6. TNF-α: Tumor necrosis factor-α.

Figure 3

Comparison of serum markers levels between the two groups. A: The level of Ca. B: The level of P. C: The level of ALP. D: The level of IGF-1. E: The level of PINP. F: The level of TRACP-5b. G: The level of β-Crosslaps. Compared with before treatment, ***P<0.001, **P<0.01, *P<0.05; Compared with the control group after treatment, ##P<0.01, #P<0.05. Ca: Calcium. P: Phosphorus. ALP: Alkaline phosphatase. TRACP-5b: Tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase-5b. IGF-1: Insulin-like growth factor-1. PINP: Type I procollagen amino terminal propeptide. β-Crosslaps: β-collagen special sequence.

Figure 4

Comparison of QLQ-C30 scores between the two groups. Compared with before treatment, ***P<0.001; Compared with control group after treatment, ##P<0.01. QLQ-30: Quality Life Questionnaire Core 30.