Abstract
Summary
A technic is described in rats for individual determination of the 24-hour parathyroid hormone secretion rate (PSR). This method utilizes the subcutaneous administration of increasing amounts of parathyroid hormone (PTH) following thyroparathyroidectomy (TPEx) until pre and post TPEx levels of serum calcium are approximately equal. There were individual variations in the time required for serum calcium to reach its lowest level following TPEx and also in the quantity of PTH required to elevate serum calcium to the pre TPEx level. These probably represent individual variations in PSR. The average duration of effect of a single adequate PTH replacement was 10 hours, and from this the average PTH secretion over a 24-hour period was calculated to be 96 I.U.
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