THE FATE OF INTRAVENOUSLY ADMINISTERED CALCIUM. EFFECT ON URINARY CALCIUM AND PHOSPHORUS, FECAL CALCIUM AND CALCIUM-PHOSPHORUS BALANCE 1

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Abstract
Intraven. admd. Ca gluconate (550 mg. daily) was used to supplement the dietary intakes of 3 human subjects on metabolic balance. These included an essentially normal woman of 37 yrs., a woman of 57 yrs. with post-menopausal osteoporosis and a man aged 44 yrs. recovering from a long period of self-imposed partial starvation. In all subjects 50-75% of the Ca supplement was excreted in the urine within 24 hrs. Little if any of the parenteral Ca was transferred to the feces, since a consistent effect on fecal Ca could not be demonstrated. In control periods following Ca admn., both female patients excreted less Ca than in preliminary control periods. It is suggested that this effect may have been caused by parenteral Ca acting to depress temporarily the function of the parathyroid glands. Retention of supplemental Ca was accompanied by a retention of P which resulted from a decreased excretion of urinary P. While injns. of both testosterone propionate and alpha-estradiol benzoate caused the normal subject to retain more dietary Ca, neither appeared to influence the retention of intraven. Ca. A small N sparing effect was noted in the man and in the normal woman during periods when Ca gluconate was injd.