Calcitonin in reflex sympathetic dystrophy syndrome and other painful conditions.

Salmon calcitonin (especially intranasal) provides an interesting analgesic effect in a series of painful conditions including reflex sympathetic dystrophy syndrome, adhesive capsulitis, ankylosing spondylitis, rheumatoid arthritis, vertebral crush fractures and metastasis, phantom limb pain, etc. In addition, in preliminary series, calcitonin shows an unexpected benefit to vasomotor changes and peptic ulcer. Yet the experience in these conditions is limited and needs confirmation. By comparison with the injectable, the intranasal route seems particularly interesting because of less undesirable effects, and a more rapid and probably more powerful analgesia.