Calcium deficiencies

Other Calcium Disorders. In addition to hypocalcemia, tremors, osteoporosis, and muscle spasms (tetary), calcium deficiency can lead to rickets, osteomalacia, and possibly heart disease. These, as well as Paget s disease, can also result from faulty utilization of calcium. Calcium excess can lead to excess secretion of calcitonin, possible calcification of soft tissues, and kidney stones when combined with magnesium deficiency. 

Clinical stresses which interfere with vitamin metabohsm, can result in calcium deficiency leading to osteomalacia and osteoporosis (secondary vitamin D deficiency). These stresses include intestinal malabsorption (lack of bile salts) stomach bypass surgery obstmctive jaundice alcoholism Hver or kidney failure decreasing hydroxylation of vitamin to active forms inborn error of metabohsm and use of anticonverdiants that may lead to increased requirement. 

The condition of the curd on precipitation is important. As the milk starts to gel, agitators in the coagulation tanks are started as the temperature is raised to about 65°C. Under these conditions the protein is thrown out in fine particles. Too slow an agitation will produce large clots difficult to wash whilst too fine a curd also presents washing problems. In order to obtain the requisite consistency of the precipitate it may be necessary to add inorganic material to the skimmed milk. For example, the addition of phosphate ions will prevent undesirable flaky polymer. Similarly, calcium-deficient casein will not coagulate satisfactorily and the addition of calcium ions may be necessary. 

Oral calcium has long been used for the treatment of osteoporosis, both in the form of dietary and pharmacological supplements. In patients with calcium deficiency, oral calcium at doses of 1000-1500 mg/day corrects a negative calcium balance and suppresses PTH secretion. Sufficient calcium intake is most important for the acciual of peak bone mass in the young, but is also considered the basis of most anti-osteoporotic regimens. In the elderly, supplementation with oral calcium and vitamin D reduces the risk of hip fracture by about 30 4-0%. 

In some patients who are calcium deficient, the uterus may not respond to ergonovine. The nurse immediately reports a ladk of response to ergonovine. Administration of calcium by tV injection usually restores response to the drug. 

Ishida et al., 1998 9 week old OVX rats calcium-deficient diet daidzin 10, 25, 50 mg/kg bw by gavage treatment for 28 d starting 7 d after OVX High dose genistin or daidzin prevented bone loss. Daidzin retarded femoral bone loss in a dose-dependent manner... 

ISHIDA H, UESUGi T, HiRAi K, TODA T, NUKAYA H, YOKOTSUKA K and Tsuji K (1998) Preventive effects of the plant isollavones, daidzin and genistin, on bone loss in ovariectomized rats fed a calcium-deficient diet Biol Pharm Bulletin 21, 62-66. 

For acute symptomatic hypocalcemia, 200 to 300 mg of elemental calcium is administered IV and repeated until symptoms are fully controlled. This is achieved by infusing 1 g of calcium chloride or 2 to 3 grams of calcium at a rate no faster than 30 to 60 mg of elemental calcium per minute. More rapid administration is associated with hypotension, bradycardia, or cardiac asystole. Total calcium concentration is commonly monitored in critically ill patients. Under normal circumstances, about half of calcium is loosely bound to serum proteins while the other half is free. Total calcium concentration measures bound and free calcium. Ionized calcium measures free calcium only. Under usual circumstances, a normal calcium level implies a normal free ionized calcium level. Ionized calcium should be obtained in patients with comorbid conditions that would lead to inconsistency between total calcium and free serum calcium (abnormal albumin, protein, or immunoglobulin concentrations). For chronic asymptomatic hypocalcemia, oral calcium supplements are given at doses of 2 to 4 g/day of elemental calcium. Many patients with calcium deficiency have concurrent vitamin D deficiency that must also be corrected in order to restore calcium homeostasis.2,37,38... 

Factors that can predispose patients to developing metabolic bone disease include deficiencies of phosphorus, calcium, and vitamin D vitamin D and/or aluminum toxicity amino acids and hypertonic dextrose infusions chronic metabolic acidosis corticosteroid therapy and lack of mobility.35,39 Calcium deficiency (due to decreased intake or increased urinary excretion) is one of the major causes of metabolic bone disease in patients receiving PN. Provide adequate calcium and phosphate with PN to improve bone mineralization and help to prevent metabolic bone disease. Administration of amino acids and chronic metabolic acidosis also appear to play an important role. Provide adequate amounts of acetate in PN admixtures to maintain acid-base balance. 

Forage legumes, of which white clover is the most important, are particularly sensitive to calcium deficiency and will not thrive. Ideally, soil pH should be maintained between 5.8 and 6.5. Heavy-textured soils such as clay require more lime than sandy soils to raise pH, because the higher levels of clay and organic matter act as a buffer against change, and the same is true of peaty soils. 

Dietary calcium intake appears to affect lead absorption. An inverse relationship has been observed between dietary calcium intake and blood lead concentration in children, suggesting that children who are calcium deficient may absorb more lead than calcium replete children (Mahaffey et al. 1986 Ziegler et al. 1978). An effect of calcium on lead absorption is also evident in adults. In experimental studies of adults, absorption of a single dose of lead (100-300 ig lead chloride) was lower when the lead was... 

Calcium Rat Lead retention Retention increased in calcium deficiency Barton et al. 1978a... 

Iron appeared to reduce the effects of orally or subcutaneously administered lead on blood enzyme and liver catalase activity (Bota et al. 1982). Treatment of pregnant hamsters with iron- or calcium-deficient diets in conjunction with orally administered lead resulted in embryonic or fetal mortality and abnormalities (ranting, edema) in the litters, while treatment with complete diets and lead did not (Carpenter 1982). Inadequate levels of iron in association with increased body burdens of lead enhanced biochemical changes associated with lead intoxication (Waxman and Rabinowitz 1966). Ferrous iron was reported to protect against the inhibition of hemoglobin synthesis and cell metabolism by lead it has been speculated that iron competes with lead uptake by the cell (Waxman and Rabinowitz 1966). In... 

Deknudt G, Gerber GB. 1979. Chromosomal aberrations in bone-marrow cells of mice given a normal or a calcium-deficient diet supplemented with various heavy metals. Mut Res 68 163-168. 

Structural chromosome aberrations, particularly chromatid gaps and increased frequency of fragment exchange, were observed in rat bone marrow cells after 14 days of exposure to 240 mg Zn/L drinking water (Kowalska-Wochna et al. 1988). Chromosomal aberrations were observed in bone marrow cells of mice fed diets equivalent to 650 mg Zn/kg BW daily, in mice exposed to zinc oxide by inhalation, and in mice maintained on a low-calcium diet (USPHS 1989). Aberrations in bone marrow of mice given 5000 mg Zn/kg diet may be associated with calcium deficiency (Leonard and Gerber 1989). Calcium is displaced by zinc in calcium-depleted conditions, leading to chromosomal breaks and interference in the repair process (USPHS 1989). 

In 1978, on the basis of a few measurements of urine calcium and phosphate excretion as well as an awareness of the previously mentioned work regarding the amounts of calcium and phosphate normally accreted in utero and postnatally, it became apparent that the demineralization, fractures and rickets we were seeing in our infants were caused by calcium deficiency. Consequently we increased the amount of calcium added to the parenteral alimentation solutions. If more than 12.5 mM of the calcium were added to a liter of hyperalimentation solution, gross precipitation would occur in the feeding solution. If 10 mM of calcium were added per liter, crystalline precipitated began to build up on the inside of our barium-impregnated silicone rubber central venous catheters. This crystalline precipitate resulted in gradual occlusion and functional loss of these lines. After several false starts and six lost catheters, chemical and crystal analysis showed that the precipitate inside these catheters was CaHPO. ... 

Apparent absorption (intake minus fecal excretion) of calcium decreased when the diet contained muffins with added sodium phytate to increase the molar ratio of phytate/calcium from 0.04 to 0.14 and 0.24. One-half of the men excreted more calcium in feces than was consumed when the high phytate diet was consumed. People consuming diets with molar ratios of phytate/calcium exceeding 0.2 may be at risk of calcium deficiency because of low bioavailability of dietary calcium unless physiological adjustments can be accomplished that maintain homeostasis. 

For more than forty years, it has been known that increasing the protein content of the diet causes an increase in urinary calcium excretion (1, 2). There is, in fact, a direct correlation between urine calcium output and dietary protein level, so that excretion is 800 percent higher if dietary protein is increased from 6 g per day to 560 g per day (3 ). This relationship between urinary calcium and protein ingestion is not affected by the level of dietary calcium, and is evident even when severely calcium-deficient diets are consumed (3). 

Serum calcium levels were depressed with the feeding of 18 to 100 g of wheat bran to human subjects in the study by Heaton and Pomare (10) but were unaffected by the feeding of approximately 20 g of wheat fiber in the study by Jenkins et al. (19). Since blood serum calcium levels tend to be resistant to change except under conditions of severe calcium deficiency, measurement of blood serum calcium levels is probably not sufficiently sensitive to indicate change in calcium nutritional status in short-term feeding studies. 

Once calcium deficient hydroxyapatite DOHA (between pH 6.8 and 8.2) is formed, a metastable equilibrium is created with the aqueous solution which may last indefinitely at room or body temperature.If carbonate ions are present in addition the apatite preferably formed is... 

The dehydration of alcohols on stoichiometric and nonstoichiometric (calcium-deficient) hydroxyapatite (series 8 and 9 in Table II) gave results consistent with the above findings. Although there is a difference in the reaction temperature, it is evident that with the nonstoichiometric catalyst, which must be more acidic, the slope found is more negative than that with the stoichiometric calcium phosphate. 

Brunius G. 1987. Mitogenic activity of chloroform and carbon tetrachloride in semm-deficient or calcium-deficient cultures of human embryonic lung fibroblasts. Carcinogenesis 11 1645-1649. 

Indirect effects Blossom end rot deft) is a disorder of tomatoes and peppers resulting from calcium deficiency, but usually caused by lack of water. The calcium may be present in the soil but the plant cannot take it up because of dryness around the roots this is common in plants in pots that are watered irregularly, or only when the gardener notices they are wilting. 

Bitter pit in apples, caused by calcium deficiency, also common in light, sandy soil. 

Mineral deficiencies are not uncommon and can have quite a variety of causes—e. g., an unbalanced diet, resorption disturbances, and diseases. Calcium deficiency can lead to rickets, osteoporosis, and other disturbances. Chloride deficiency is observed as a result of severe Cr losses due to vomiting. Due to the low content of iodine in food in many regions of central Europe, iodine deficiency is widespread there and can lead to goiter. Magnesium deficiency can be caused by digestive disorders or an unbalanced diet—e.g., in alcoholism. Trace element deficiencies often result in a disturbed blood picture—i. e., forms of anemia. 

Oral As a dietary supplement when calcium intake may be inadequate. Conditions that may be associated with calcium deficiency include the following Vitamin D deficiency, sprue, pregnancy and lactation, achlorhydria, chronic diarrhea, hypoparathyroidism, steatorrhea, menopause, renal failure, pancreatitis, hyperphosphatemia, and alkalosis. Some diuretics and anticonvulsants may precipitate hypocalcemia, which may validate calcium replacement therapy. Calcium salt therapy should not preclude the use of other corrective measures intended to treat the underlying cause of calcium depletion. 

Calcium carbonate Treating calcium deficiency states. 

Albrecht campaigned against the concept of an acid soil causing poorer crop growth rather, it is the calcium deficiency that needs to be remedied. The acid soil solution dissolves rock particles, such as rock phosphate and limestone, to release beneficial nutrients such as phosphate and calcium respectively. It also mobilizes the other adsorbed ions off the clay-humus colloid. He estimated the optimum ratios of calcium to magnesium and calcium to potassium. These were approximately from 4 1 to 7.5 1, and from 15 1 to 38 1 respectively. The higher the Ca K ratio, the more proteinaceous... 

Dursun, N., and Aydogan, S. (1994). Comparative effects of calcium deficiency and supplements on the intestinal absorption of zinc in rats. Jpn. J. Physiol. 44,157-166. 

Ohya, K., Amano, H., and Ogura, H. (1992). Alveolar bone resorption process in the molar tooth region in calcium-deficient rats. Kohibyo Gakkai Zasshi 59,585-593. 

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