The Efficacy of Intramuscular Calcitonin Injection in the Management of Lumbar Spinal Stenosis

STUDY DESIGN: A prospective, cross-sectional, non-randomized study. PURPOSE: To assess the effectiveness of intramuscular calcitonin injection in the treatment of lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS). OVERVIEW OF LITERATURE: LSS, manifesting as chronic low back pain and neurogenic claudication, is a chronic condition with an increasing incidence in the elderly population having inadequate effective conservative treatment options. METHODS: In this study, 36 patients with LSS who were diagnosed based on the clinical findings and magnetic resonance imaging were included. Patients received 100 IU of calcitonin per week for one month and were evaluated before and after treatment using the Oswestry disability index (ODI) questionnaire and visual analogue scale (VAS). Before treatment, the patients were divided into two subgroups based on their ODI results: patients with mild to moderate low back pain (disability, 0%-40%) and patients with severe or very severe low back pain (disability, 40%-100%). RESULTS: In patients with mild to moderate low back pain, there were no significant changes in the ODI and VAS after calcitonin injection. But in patients with severe or very severe low back pain, pain severity, personal functions, ability to lift and carry objects, time interval between standing and initiation of pain, social life, disability percentage, and VAS were significantly improved after treatment with calcitonin. CONCLUSIONS: It seems that an intramuscular injection of low dose of calcitonin may have some beneficial effects on the pain due to LSS, especially in patients who suffer from severe or very severe low back pain.

[Prevalence of metabolic syndrome in patients with polycystic ovarian syndrome in Ahvaz]

In different studies, the prevalence of metabolic syndrome outbreak has been reported as high as 7-43% among the women with polycystic ovary syndrome [PCOS]. This study was performed to determine the prevalence and predictors of the metabolic syndrome in PCOS women in Ahvaz. In an epidemiologic descriptive study, a total number of 53 women who attended the endocrinology clinic in Ahvaz from 2007 through 2008, and were diagnosed as PCOS, according to the Rotterdam criteria, were enrolled in the study. The prevalence of metabolic syndrome was studied on the basis of the criteria explained by American National Cholesterol Panel [ATP-III criteria] Fifty three women with the mean age of 24 +/- 6.8 years were studied in this research. Prevalence of metabolic syndrome in women of Ahvaz was estimated to be as 13.5%, and the prevalence for individual components comprising the metabolic syndrome were: fasting glucose blood concentrations greater than or equals to 110 mg/dl in 4 patient [7.7%], hypertension in 4 patients [7.7%], waist circumference greater than or equals to 88 cm in 14 patients [34.1%], HDL less than 40 mg/dl in 12 patients [24%], triglyceride greater than or equals to 150 mg/dl in 5 patients [9.4%], IFG in 17 patients [32.7%], diabetes in 3 patients [5.8%] and dislipidemia in 31 patients [60%]. The Metabolic Syndrome and its elements occur frequently in women with PCOS that places them at risk for cardiovascular diseases, therefore screening for these disturbances is recommended