The Clinical Significance of Thyrocalcitonin

Classically, the evidence for the existence of a hormone includes, in addition to the characteristic effects of its administration in normal sub- 

Disturbances of calcium homeostasis have often been reported in diseases involving abnormal secretion of thyroid hormone. In thyrotoxicosis (G5, K2) the disturbance, if present, usually manifests itself as hypercalcemia of moderate degree, with loss of calcium from the bones and increased urinary output of calcium, thus suggesting a possible deficiency of thyrocalcitonin output in this type of thyroid disease. Most such observations antedate the discovery of thyrocalcitonin, and there is not yet much information on the response of such patients to an 

It is perhaps not unduly speculative to think of the possibility of synthetic peptides being produced with greater potency than the natural hormone, and these might well revolutionize the treatment of patients whose bones require replenishment with calcium. 

gratefully acknowledges a grant from the Medical Research Council. 

Aliapoulios, M. A., Goldhaber, P., and Munson, P. L., Thyrooalcitonin inhibition of bone resorption induced by parathyroid hormone in tissue culture. Science 161, 330-331 (1966). 

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