Abstract
Previous studies indicated that thyrocalcitonin (TCT), the thyroid hypocalcemic factor, played an important role in calcium homeostasis in animals. In the present study the response to calcium loads was compared in normal and in thyroid-treated athyrotic children in an effort to obtain physiologic evidence for the secretion of a hypocalcemic factor (TCT) by the thyroid gland of children. Calcium, in a dose of 10 mg/kg, was administered i.v. at a constant rate over a 3-hour period. Periodic blood samples obtained before, during and after the infusion were analyzed for calcium, magnesium and phosphorus. Although the baseline serum calcium levels were similar in the athyrotic and normal children, there was a significant quantitative difference in the response of these two groups to calcium loads. Substantially greater increases in serum calcium levels were observed in most of the athyrotic children. The mean increase in serum calcium mid-way and at the end of the infusion was twice as great in the athyrotic as in the normal children. A similar difference was still detected 30 and 60 minutes after the end of the infusion. On the other hand, in two cretins with intact thyroid glands (defect in organification of iodine) and in children with thyrotoxic goiters, the response to calcium loads was similar to that observed in the normal children. The serum magnesium levels remained constant in all of the children studied and no consistent changes were observed in the serum phosphorus levels.
This study provides evidence for the secretion of a thyroid hypocalcemic factor (TCT) in children and indicates the nature of its role in maintaining calcium homeostasis. (SPR)
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Anast, S., Guthrie, R. & Folwell, J. 12 Thyroid Hypocalcemic Factor (Thyrocalcitonin) in Children. Pediatr Res 1, 203 (1967). https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-196705000-00019
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-196705000-00019