Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Calcitonin and calcium levels linked to bone health in cats with high
By Evangelia Maniaki et al.·Published in Frontiers in Veterinary Science·2024·Bristol Veterinary School, University of Bristol, Langford, Bristol, United Kingdom, CH·View original on DOAJ →
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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 an increased calcitonin response, and all of these had idiopathic hypercalcemia, meaning the cause was unknown. The researchers found no strong links between calcitonin levels and calcium or bone turnover markers in these cats. This suggests that while calcitonin is expected to help lower high calcium levels, it may not be effective in all cases, especially if bone turnover is not high.
People also search for: cat high calcium treatment · hypercalcemia in cats · calcitonin for cats with high calcium
Abstract
ObjectivesThis 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.MethodsHypercalcemic 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.ResultsTwenty-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 (p = 0.929), calcitonin and ALP (p = 0.917) or iCa and ALP (p = 0.678) in hypercalcemic cats, however, a significant negative correlation was observed between calcitonin and ALP (p = 0.037) when normocalcemic and hypercalcemic cats with an elevated calcitonin concentration were analyzed together.DiscussionThe 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 DOAJ: https://doi.org/10.3389/fvets.2024.1399942