Effect of Calcitonin on plasma glucose, C-peptide, glucagon and growth hormone responses to arginine in insulin-dependent diabetic subjects.

The present study was aimed at investigating the effect of calcitonin on plasma glucose, C-peptide, glucagon and growth hormone (GH) responses to arginine in insulin-dependent diabetic subjects. For this purpose, 6 insulin-requiring diabetics were submitted to an arginine tolerance test twice, in basal conditions and during the simultaneous infusion of salmon calcitonin (100 MRC) plus arginine in random order. Calcitonin caused a clear inhibition of the plasma glucose rise triggered by the amino acid, without significant modifications of the plasma C-peptide and glucagon responses. A significant rebound of plasma glucose was seen after calcitonin was stopped. Plasma GH rise following arginine administration was significantly inhibited by calcitonin. These findings suggest some positive interferences of calcitonin with the arginine-induced plasma glucose increase in insulin-dependent diabetes.