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SUMMARY (1) Calcitonin preparations from acetone-dried thyroid were administered to rats by various routes. (2) Intravenous administration, especially by infusion, produced a much greater fall in plasma calcium than s.c. or i.p. injection. (3) The log dose-effect curves after i.v. injection or infusion showed no evidence of non-linearity over a 100-fold dose range and had highly significant slopes. (4) The potency ratio of two preparations was estimated by means of a (2+2) assay design using both i.v. infusion and single i.v. injection. There was satisfactory agreement. (5) The i.v. injection method is recommended for the routine assay of calcitonin. A simple assay schedule is given in the Appendix. (6) A unit of calcitonin activity is defined in terms of a standard preparation.

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Studies were undertaken to investigate the effects of synthetic 1-24 adrenocorticotropin (ACTH), bovine alpha melanocyte-stimulating hormone (alpha-MSH), and ovine beta lipotropin (beta-LPH) on plasma calcium and phosphate in rabbits. Equimolar concentrations of these hormones were infused intravenously in intact and thyroidectomized animals. In addition, ACTH was similarly administered to adrenalectomized rabbits. ACTH, alpha-MSH, and beta-LPH all lowered plasma calcium and raised plasma phosphate. These changes were not prevented by prior thyroidectomy. ACTH was equally effective in inducing hypocalcemia and hyperphosphatemia in the absence of the adrenal glands, while adrenalectomy alone raised plasma calcium. From these findings we have concluded that 1) ACTH, alpha-MSH, and betaLPH affect phosphate as well as calcium metabolism; 2) these hormones do not act by releasing calcitonin; and 3) ACTH exerts its hypocalcemic-hyperphosphatemic effect, at least in part, independently of its trophic action on the adrenal glands.

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