Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Calcitonin and calcium levels linked to bone health in cats with high
By Maniaki, Evangelia et al.·Published in Frontiers in veterinary science·2024·Bristol Veterinary School, United Kingdom·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Exploring the relationship between calcitonin, ionized calcium, and bone turnover in cats with and without naturally occurring hypercalcemia.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A group of cats with high calcium levels (hypercalcemia) was studied to see how their bodies responded to a hormone called calcitonin, which helps regulate calcium. Out of 26 hypercalcemic cats, only 5 showed a significant response to calcitonin, and all of these cats had idiopathic hypercalcemia, meaning the cause was unknown. The study found no strong link between calcitonin levels and calcium levels or bone turnover in these cats. This suggests that calcitonin's effectiveness in lowering calcium might depend on how active the bones are in breaking down and rebuilding.
People also search for: cat hypercalcemia symptoms · calcitonin for cats high calcium · cat bone turnover issues
Abstract
OBJECTIVES: This case-control study aimed to evaluate calcitonin response in naturally occurring hypercalcemia in cats and assess the relationships between calcitonin and ionized calcium (iCa) and examine relationships between calcitonin, iCa and bone turnover. METHODS: Hypercalcemic cats (persistently increased iCa concentration [>1.40 mmol/l]) were identified retrospectively via a medical database search; additional hypercalcemic and normocalcemic cats were recruited prospectively. Data regarding routine biochemical and urine testing, diagnostic imaging and additional blood testing were obtained. Serum alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity was used as a marker of bone turnover. Serum calcitonin concentration was analyzed using a previously validated immunoradiometric assay. Hypercalcemic cats with an increased calcitonin concentration (>0.9 ng/L) were termed responders. Group comparisons were performed using a Mann-Whitney test for continuous variables and a χ2 test for categorical variables. Spearman's correlation coefficient was used to examine the relationships between calcitonin, iCa and ALP. RESULTS: Twenty-six hypercalcemic and 25 normocalcemic cats were recruited. Only 5/26 (19.2%) of the hypercalcemic cats were identified as responders, and all were diagnosed with idiopathic hypercalcemia. There was no significant correlation between the concentrations of calcitonin and iCa ( = 0.929), calcitonin and ALP ( = 0.917) or iCa and ALP ( = 0.678) in hypercalcemic cats, however, a significant negative correlation was observed between calcitonin and ALP ( = 0.037) when normocalcemic and hypercalcemic cats with an elevated calcitonin concentration were analyzed together. DISCUSSION: The expected increase in calcitonin concentration was present in only a small subset of hypercalcemic cats; no correlation was found between iCa and calcitonin concentration. The inverse relationship between calcitonin and ALP in cats with increased calcitonin concentrations suggests that the ability of calcitonin to correct hypercalcemia may be related to the degree of bone turnover.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38887540/