Role of calcitonin in diarrhoea associated with medullary carcinoma of the thyroid.
Open Access
- 1 July 1979
- Vol. 20 (7) , 629-633
- https://doi.org/10.1136/gut.20.7.629
Abstract
Severe watery diarrhoea in a patient with medullary thryoid carcinoma and high calcitonin levels was associated with increased distal ileal flow. Plasma from the patient inhibited small intestinal fluid absorption in dogs without affecting mucosal cyclic AMP levels. When calcitonin was removed from the plasma, the effect in experimental bowel loops was abolished but could be restored on restitution of comparable hormone levels with pure calcitonin. These studies, combined with the failure to find evidence of increased prostaglandin activity in the patient, suggest that circulating calcitonin may be a major cause of the diarrhoea in medullary thyroid carcinoma.Keywords
This publication has 19 references indexed in Scilit:
- NORMAL PLASMA CALCITONIN: CIRCADIAN VARIATION AND RESPONSE TO STIMULIClinical Endocrinology, 1977
- Vasoactive Intestinal Peptide Stimulation of Adenylate Cyclase and Active Electrolyte Secretion in Intestinal MucosaJournal of Clinical Investigation, 1974
- Thyrocalcitonin and the Jejunal Absorption of Calcium, Water, and Electrolytes in Normal SubjectsJournal of Clinical Investigation, 1973
- Effect of Intravenous Prostaglandin F2α on Small Intestinal Function in ManNature, 1973
- Extraction of Prostaglandins from Human BloodNature, 1971
- Stimulation of intestinal mucosal adenyl cyclase by cholera enterotoxin and prostaglandinsJournal of Clinical Investigation, 1971
- A Protein Binding Assay for Adenosine 3′:5′-Cyclic MonophosphateProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 1970
- Diarrhoea associated with medullary carcinoma of the thyroidGut, 1969
- PROSTAGLANDIN SECRETION BY MEDULLARY CARCINOMA OF THE THYROID: A Possible Cause of the Associated DiarrhoeaThe Lancet, 1968
- PROTEIN MEASUREMENT WITH THE FOLIN PHENOL REAGENTJournal of Biological Chemistry, 1951