129 postmenopausal women with low bone mass were randomly assigned to receive either salmon calcitonin orally or placebo once daily for 1 year. The outcomes of interest were the change in bone mineral density (at the lumbar spine, femoral neck, trochanter, and total hip) and collagen type 1 C-telopeptide (CTx-1). The findings demonstrated a significant increase in lumbar spine bone mineral density in the calcitonin group compared with the placebo group, and a significantly smaller reduction in proximal femur bone mineral density in the calcitonin group compared to the palcebo group over 54 weeks.