Synthetic salmon calcitonin is not diabetogenic in patients with normal or impaired glucose metabolism.

The effects of short term administration of 200 MRC U of synthetic salmon calcitonin (sCT) daily on carbohydrate metabolism were investigated in 10 patients with various bone diseases, 3 of whom had type II diabetes mellitus and 3 of whom had impaired glucose tolerance. Blood glucose levels during the nocturnal postabsorptive period, blood glucose and blood insulin (IRI) levels and the ratio of the area under the insulin curve to the area under the glucose curve (AI/AG) after a mixed meal were determined before and after 15 days of treatment. The values before and after sCT treatment were not significantly different, suggesting that high doses of sCT are not diabetogenic and can be given to patients with impaired glucose tolerance or to diabetics, without any risk of deteriorating metabolic control.