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Calcitonin is a hormone protein that lowers the concentration of blood calcium when it has risen to an above normal level. In humans and other mammals, calcitonin is secreted by the parafollicular cells of the thyroid gland while in fish, birds and reptiles it is secreted by the ultimobranchial gland.
The main actions of calcitonin are the lowering of blood calcium and the suppression of cell activity that causes calcium to be lost from bones. Some of the main actions of calcitonin are described below:
Calcitonin-containing medicines are usually administered as solutions that can be injected but for the past couple of decades, they have also been available in the form of nasal sprays.
When used as a nasal spray, calcitonin takes around 13 to 15 minutes to be absorbed into the blood. The half-life of commercially prepared calcitonin is around 18 to 20 minutes.
Calcitonin may be used to treat several conditions. Some examples of these include:
Calcitonin prevents calcium loss from bones, which is particularly important in cases of health conditions that tend to cause this loss such as pregnancy or being immobilized for a prolonged period due to a fracture or heart attack, for example.