Inhibitory effect of calcitonin on growth hormone and insulin secretion in man.

The effect of calcitonin administration on basal and arginine-stimulated growth hormone and insulin plasma levels was investigated. The intramuscular injection of synthetic salmon calcitonin (100 U MRC) in five normal subjects produced a significant decrease (p less than 0.05) in insulin concentration. The same amount of calcitonin given 15 min before an arginine infusion test in seven normal subjects significantly reduced the response of growth hormone (p less than 0.025) and insulin (p less than 0.005) to the stimulus.