[INTRODUCTION - The effect of short-term calcium and vitamin D supplementation by a clinical nutriment on bone formation and resorption was studied in postmenopausal women with normal or decreased calcidiol serum levels. PATIENTS AND METHODS - Ninety-one postmenopausal women (age, 60-75 years) were enrolled in the study to investigate the effect of 1120 mg calcium and 208 IU vitamin D in a complex composition (Fortimel®, Nutricia) on bone turnover after 4 weeks of treatment. All women suffered from osteopenia or osteoporosis detected by bone densitometry. Serum parathyroid hormone levels and bone turnover markers (serum β-CrossLaps, osteocalcin and alkaline phosphatase) were determined before and after the treatment. Moreover, calcidiol serum level was also measured at the beginning of the study to assess vitamin D supply. A questionnaire was used to assess gastrointestinal side effects and urinary calcium/creatinine ratio was calculated to estimate the risk of kidney stone development. RESULTS - In the entire patient group the mean serum level of β-CrossLaps was elevated (526.97±29.26 pg/ml) before the study and decreased during the treatment (485.58±28.27 pg/ml, p=0.03).The mean serum level of osteocalcin (28.58±1.37 vs. 27.03±1.36 ng/ml, p=0.025) and serum alkaline phosphatase activity (200.46±8.72 vs. 186.94±11.64 U/l, p=0.033) both decreased.The serum 25-OH vitamin D3 was below 30 ng/ml in 20 patients before the treatment, suggesting vitamin D deficiency.A correlation (r=0.508, p<0.001) between the decrease of bone formation and the decrease of bone resorption was found only in patients with normal serum 25-OH vitamin D3 concentration (>30 ng/ml). However, bone turnover did not decrease in patients with calcidiol deficiency. Urinary calcium/creatinine ratio remained unchanged during the treatment, but two patients suffered from constipation and one of them had diarrhea due to the calcium supplementation. CONCLUSIONS - Calcium and vitamin D supplementation in a complex clinical nutriment proved to be effective in decreasing bone turnover in postmenopausal women with good vitamin D supply, even after a short treatment period of 4 weeks. However, this treatment was ineffective in patients with vitamin D deficiency suggesting the importance of serum calcidiol measurement before calcium supplementation. Calcium in complex with other nutrients such as citrate did not increase the risk of renal stone formation in the short run, and only caused gastrointestinal problems in a tiny fraction of patients.]
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