Literature search and study selection

Databases MEDLINE, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials were searched till February 18, 2015 to identify all potential clinical trials using ELD for the treatment of osteoporosis. We performed the literature search using the following search term: (eldecalcitol OR ED-71). After excluding review articles, basic studies, animal studies, pharmacokinetic studies, articles in languages other than English, and conference abstracts, we identified a total of eleven clinical studies investigating the efficacy of ELD in treatment of osteoporosis. If the same study had been published in different articles, we selected the most recent publication or the publication covering most detailed information. Literature search was repeated using the same databases and search terms during the revision of this article and no new study was found.