What is the main target of calcitonin?

bone
The major target site for calcitonin is bone, where it inhibits osteoclastic bone resorption. The effects of calcitonin in bone are transitory, which has limited the usefulness of calcitonin as a treatment for hypercalcemia. At high doses, calcitonin may promote urinary calcium excretion.

What does the hormone calcitonin stimulate?

Calcitonin is known to stimulate renal 1,25 (OH)2 vitamin D (1,25D) production at a site in the proximal tubule different from parathyroid hormone and hypophosphatemia. During pregnancy and lactation, both calcitonin and 1,25D are increased.

What are the 2 effects of calcitonin?

The main actions of calcitonin are to increase bone calcium content and decrease the blood calcium level when it rises above normal. Calcitonin also lowers blood phosphorus levels when they rise above normal.

Does calcitonin increase blood calcium levels?

While HPT occurs when one or more malfunctioning parathyroid glands produce an excess amount of PTH and raise the blood calcium level, calcitonin does not play a major role in HPT. Also, whereas calcitonin helps lower the body’s calcium levels, PTH helps increase the body’s calcium levels.

What is the physiological effect of calcitonin?

Physiologic Effects of Calcitonin Bone: Calcitonin suppresses resorption of bone by inhibiting the activity of osteoclasts, a cell type that “digests” bone matrix, releasing calcium and phosphorus into blood. Kidney: Calcium and phosphorus are prevented from being lost in urine by reabsorption in the kidney tubules.

How does calcitonin help osteoporosis?

In humans, calcitonin is the hormone responsible for normal calcium homeostasis. When prescribed to osteoporosis patients, calcitonin inhibits bone resorption, resulting in increased bone mass.

What happens if too much calcitonin is produced?

If too much calcitonin is found in the blood, it may be a sign of a type of thyroid cancer called medullary thyroid cancer (MTC). High levels may also be a sign of other thyroid diseases that can put you at a higher risk for getting MTC.

Why is calcitonin not a thyroid hormone?

Another hormone produced by thyroid gland is calcitonin. Calcitonin does not affect the metabolic turnover, but interferes with the metabolism of calcium (and phosphate) ions, which are responsible (among other functions) for the stability of membrane potential.

Does calcitonin increase bone density?

Calcitonin slows bone breakdown and increases bone density in the spine. It reduces the risk of spine fractures, but has not been shown to decrease the risk of non-spine or hip fractures.

Is calcitonin a first line treatment for osteoporosis?

We do not use calcitonin as first-line therapy, because more effective drugs are available for prevention of bone loss and reduction of fracture risk. (See “Overview of the management of osteoporosis in postmenopausal women”.)