Skip to main content
NCBI home page
The Journal of Clinical Investigation logoLink to The Journal of Clinical Investigation
. 1969 Sep;48(9):1705–1713. doi: 10.1172/JCI106136

Study of calcium absorption in man: a kinetic analysis and physiologic model

Stanley J Birge 1,2, William A Peck 1,2, Mones Berman 1,2, G Donald Whedon 1,2
PMCID: PMC535742  PMID: 5822579

Abstract

A physical model of calcium absorption was developed from analysis of data obtained on 23 subjects, including 13 patients having a variety of abnormalities of calcium metabolism. The model was tested and found consistent in all subjects studied. This technique provides a quantitative description of the rate of entry of oral dose of 47Ca into the circulation as a function of time by analysis of serum or forearm radioactivity in response to intravenous and oral administration of 47Ca. The kinetics of the absorption process as proposed by the model are characterized by an initial delay phase of 15-20 min, by a maximal rate of absorption at 40-60 min after ingestion, and by 95% completion of the absorption within 2½ hr. Partial identification of the physiological counterparts of the model was possible by introduction of the isotope at various levels of the gut. Although the region of the duodenum was found to have the greatest rate of absorption per unit length in normal subjects, it was least responsive to stimulation by parathyroid hormone and suppression by calcium loading. Furthermore, the response of the gut to parathyroid hormone was delayed, whereas the suppression of absorption by intravenous or oral calcium loading was rapid and dramatic. The implications of these observations are discussed.

Full text

PDF
1705

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. AURBACH G. D., POTTS J. T., Jr PARTITION OF PARATHYROID HORMONE ON SEPHADEX G-100. Endocrinology. 1964 Aug;75:290–292. doi: 10.1210/endo-75-2-290. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. AVIOLI L. V., MCDONALD J. E., SINGER R. A., HENNEMAN P. H. A NEW ORAL ISOTOPIC TEST OF CALCIUM ABSORPTION. J Clin Invest. 1965 Jan;44:128–139. doi: 10.1172/JCI105119. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. BERMAN M., SHAHN E., WEISS M. F. The routine fitting of kinetic data to models: a mathematical formalism for digital computers. Biophys J. 1962 May;2:275–287. doi: 10.1016/s0006-3495(62)86855-6. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. BERMAN M., WEISS M. F., SHAHN E. Some formal approaches to the analysis of kinetic data in terms of linear compartmental systems. Biophys J. 1962 May;2:289–316. doi: 10.1016/s0006-3495(62)86856-8. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. BLAU M., SPENCER H., SWERNOV J., LASZLO D. Utilization and intestinal excretion of calcium in man. Science. 1954 Dec 17;120(3129):1029–1031. doi: 10.1126/science.120.3129.1029. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. BRONNER F., HARRIS R. S., MALETSKOS C. J., BENDA C. E. Studies in calcium metabolism: effect of food phytates on calcium 45 uptake in children on low-calcium breakfasts. J Nutr. 1954 Dec 10;54(4):523–542. doi: 10.1093/jn/54.4.523. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Brownell G. L., Berman M., Robertson J. S. Nomenclature for tracer kinetics. Int J Appl Radiat Isot. 1968 Mar;19(3):249–262. doi: 10.1016/0020-708x(68)90022-7. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. CANIGGIA A., GENNARI C., BIANCHI V., GUIDERI R. Intestinal absorption of 45Ca in senile osteoporosis. Acta Med Scand. 1963 May;173:613–617. doi: 10.1111/j.0954-6820.1963.tb17445.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Curtis F. K., Fellows H., Rich C. Estimation of human calcium absorption by external radioisotope counting. J Lab Clin Med. 1967 Jun;69(6):1036–1041. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. DEGRAZIA J. A., RICH C. STUDIES OF INTESTINAL ABSORPTION OF CALCIUM-45 IN MAN. Metabolism. 1964 Jul;13:650–660. doi: 10.1016/0026-0495(64)90073-3. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. DeGrazia J. A., Ivanovich P., Fellows H., Rich C. A double isotope method for measurement of intestinal absorption of calcium in man. J Lab Clin Med. 1965 Nov;66(5):822–829. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. GARNER R. J., JONES H. G., SANSOM B. F. Fission products and the dairy cow. 2. Some aspects of the metabolism of the alkaline-earth elements calcium, strontium and barium. Biochem J. 1960 Sep;76:572–579. doi: 10.1042/bj0760572. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. JAWORSKI Z. F., BROWN E. M., FEDORUK S., SEITZ H. A METHOD FOR THE STUDY OF CALCIUM ABSORPTION BY THE HUMAN GUT USING A STANDARD DOSE OF CALCIUM LABELED WITH CALCIUM-47. N Engl J Med. 1963 Nov 21;269:1103–1111. doi: 10.1056/NEJM196311212692101. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. KIMBERG D. V., SCHACHTER D., SCHENKER H. Active transport of calcium by intestine: effects of dietary calcium. Am J Physiol. 1961 Jun;200:1256–1262. doi: 10.1152/ajplegacy.1961.200.6.1256. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. KINNEY V. R., TAUXE W. N., DEARING W. H. ISOTOPIC TRACER STUDIES OF INTESTINAL CALCIUM ABSORPTION. J Lab Clin Med. 1965 Aug;66:187–203. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. LUTWAK L., SHAPIRO J. R. CALCIUM ABSORPTION IN MAN: BASED ON LARGE VOLUME LIQUID SCINTILLATION COUNTER STUDIES. Science. 1964 May 29;144(3622):1155–1157. doi: 10.1126/science.144.3622.1155. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. SAMACHSON J. PLASMA VALUES AFTER ORAL 45-CALCIUM AND 85-STRONTIUM AS AN INDEX OF ABSORPTION. Clin Sci. 1963 Aug;25:17–26. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. SCHACHTER D., DOWDLE E. B., SCHENKER H. Accumulation of Ca45 by slices of the small intestine. Am J Physiol. 1960 Feb;198:275–279. doi: 10.1152/ajplegacy.1960.198.2.275. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Segre G. Compartmental models in the analysis of intestinal absorption. Protoplasma. 1967;63(1):328–335. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Wasserman R. H., Taylor A. N. Vitamin d3-induced calcium-binding protein in chick intestinal mucosa. Science. 1966 May 6;152(3723):791–793. doi: 10.1126/science.152.3723.791. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Journal of Clinical Investigation are provided here courtesy of American Society for Clinical Investigation

RESOURCES