What is Calcitonin?

A 32-amino-acid hormone that lowers blood calcium; salmon calcitonin (Miacalcin) has been used for Paget disease and osteoporosis.

Calcitonin in the library · · Human Trials · What are peptides?

38 registered trials · 994 indexed papers · 1183 human / 100 animal studies

From the PeptideWhiz library entry. "As described" sections summarize claims made in the sources; they are not PeptideWhiz endorsements.

What it is

A 32-amino-acid hormone that lowers blood calcium; salmon calcitonin (Miacalcin) has been used for Paget disease and osteoporosis.

Type: Peptide hormone.

Definition (National Library of Medicine)

“A peptide hormone that lowers calcium concentration in the blood. In humans, it is released by thyroid cells and acts to decrease the formation and absorptive activity of osteoclasts. Its role in regulating plasma calcium is much greater in children and in certain diseases than in normal adults.”

MeSH: Calcitonin

Human research

The registered human trials and peer-reviewed human studies linked below are listed from ClinicalTrials.gov and PubMed. A study is linked only when Calcitonin is one of its interventions, or is named in the study title or subject headings.

Listing a study does not mean it showed a benefit, and it is not medical advice.

Registered human trials (38)

Trial	Phase	Status	Year	Enrolled
Subcutaneous Calcitonin in Acute Herpes Zoster	Phase 3	recruiting	2026	168
Paravertebral Calcitonin in Thoracotomy		completed	2024	92
Calcitonin Therapy on Incidence and Severity of Neuropathic Pain After Spinal Cord Injury		recruiting	2023	126
Efficacy of Coadministration of Calcitonin and Hyperbaric Bupivacaine in Spinal Anesthesia in Tramadol-abuse Patients	Phase 4	completed	2020	90
Calcitonin Pre-treatment to Improve SPECT-CT Sensitivity	Phase 4	recruiting	2019	37
The Use of Intranasal Calcitonin to Improve Pain and Activity in Elderly Pelvic Ring Injuries	Phase 4	completed	2019	21
Diagnostic Values of C-reactive Protein and Procalcitonin in Predicting Bacterial Infection in Acute Exacerbations of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease		unknown	2019	90
Calcitonin in Needle Wash Using Electrochemiluminescence Method For Diagnosis Of Medullary Thyroid Carcinoma.		completed	2018	155
Hypothyroidism Treated With Calcitonin	Phase 4	completed	2018	11
Beijing Osteoporosis With Neurological Disorders in Epigenetic Changes Study		active not recruiting	2017	2000
Epidural Calcitonin in Lower Limb Amputation		completed	2014	60
A Study to Assess the Disturbances in Calcitonin Gene in Patients With Gum Disease and Osteoporosis		completed	2014	50
Calcitonin for Treating X-linked Hypophosphatemia		completed	2011	21
A Study of Oral Recombinant Salmon Calcitonin (rsCT) to Prevent Postmenopausal Osteoporosis	Phase 2	completed	2011	129
A Study Comparing Oral Calcitonin to Nasal Spray Calcitonin in Postmenopausal Osteoporotic Women	Phase 3	completed	2009	565
Efficacy and Safety of Oral Salmon Calcitonin in Patients With Knee Osteoarthritis (OA 2 Study)	Phase 3	terminated	2008	1030
FGF-23 Suppressibility by Calcitonin		completed	2008	49
Calcitonin in the Treatment of Fibromyalgia	Phase 4	withdrawn	2008
A Study of Oral Calcitonin Given at Night to Healthy Postmenopausal Women	Phase 2	completed	2008	12
A Dose Selection Study of Oral Recombinant Salmon Calcitonin (rsCT) in Normal, Healthy, Postmenopausal Women	Phase 2	completed	2008	24
Efficacy and Safety of Oral Salmon Calcitonin in Patients With Knee Osteoarthritis	Phase 3	completed	2007	1176
Pharmacologic Treatment of Congenital Nephrogenic Diabetes Insipidus		completed	2007	4
Efficacy of Nasal Spray Calcitonin on Recurrence of Aggressive Central Giant Cell Granuloma	Phase 2	completed	2007	24
A Study to Evaluate Oral Salmon Calcitonin in the Treatment of Osteoporosis in Postmenopausal Women Taking Calcium and Vitamin D	Phase 3	completed	2007	4665
Bone Microstructure in Nasal Salmon Calcitonin Treated Postmenopausal Women	Phase 3	completed	2007	90
Analgesic Effect of Intranasal Calcitonin on Patients With Fractured Ribs	Phase 4	terminated	2007	19
SMC021A - Absorption, Efficacy and Tolerance in Patients With Osteoarthritis. A Placebo-Controlled 14-Days Study	Phase 1	completed	2007
A Study for Patients With Osteoporosis	Phase 3	completed	2006	364
Effects of Water and Food Intake on the Pharmacokinetics and Pharmacodynamics of Oral Salmon Calcitonin in Healthy Postmenopausal Women	Phase 1	completed	2006	56
Pharmacokinetics and Pharmacodynamics Study of Oral Salmon Calcitonin in Healthy Postmenopausal Women	Phase 1	completed	2006	86
Pharmacokinetics/Pharmacodynamics of Oral Salmon Calcitonin in Patients With Osteoarthritis	Phase 1	completed	2005
Nasal Calcitonin in the Treatment of Bone Mineral Loss in Children and Adolescents With Inflammatory Bowel Disease		completed	2004	66
Comparison Medications in the Treatment of Postmenopausal Women With Osteoporosis	Phase 3	completed	2003	70
A Study of the Treatment of Postmenopausal Women With Osteoporosis	Phase 3	completed	2003	104
PTH Comparison in Post Menopausal Women	Phase 3	completed	2002	63
Efficacy and Safety of Salmon Calcitonin Nasal Spray in Improving Muscle Strength and Reducing Pain After Forearm Fracture in Postmenopausal Women	Phase 4	completed	2002	300
Effects of Oral Salmon Calcitonin in Human Osteoarthritis	Phase 2	terminated	2002	54
Phase II Study of Calcitonin for Tumoral Calcinosis	Phase 2	completed	1992	9

Peer-reviewed studies (994)

Paper	Authors	Journal	Year	Type
Predicting Structural Progression-Free Survival After Surgery for Medullary Thyroid Carcinoma	Ros-Madrid I et al.	World journal of surgery	2026	Observational Study
Prospective study on the [(18)F]FDOPA PET/CT role in the management of medullary thyroid cancer patients with high residual calcitonin level after surgery	Terroir M et al.	European journal of nuclear medicine and molecular imaging	2026	Clinical Trial
Point-of-care presepsin and procalcitonin to rule out sepsis in patients with infectious symptoms	Hamblen MC et al.	Journal of critical care	2026	Observational Study
Short-term effect of tirzepatide on serum calcitonin in adults with obesity	Angelopoulos N et al.	Endocrine	2026	Observational Study
Optimal timing of early thyroidectomy in young patients with MEN2A and its impact on disease outcome	Marmitt L et al.	Endocrine	2025	Observational Study
Calcitonin and procalcitonin measurement after cholecystokinin-2/gastrin receptor agonist stimulation in patients with advanced medullary thyroid cancer: results from the GRAN-T-MTC study	Trofimiuk-Müldner M et al.	Endokrynologia Polska	2025	Clinical Trial, Phase I
The Effect of Salmon Calcitonin Adjuvant Treatment for Lumbar Spine Fracture: A Prospective, Randomized, Controlled Trial	Hu C et al.	Journal of nutritional science and vitaminology	2024	Randomized Controlled Trial
The Long-Term Cure of Patients With Hereditary Medullary Thyroid Carcinoma: 40 Years of Follow-Up in a Single Center	Raue F et al.	Deutsches Arzteblatt international	2024	Observational Study
[Early diagnostic value of Presepsin in sepsis: a prospective study on a population with suspected sepsis in fever clinics]	Zong X et al.	Zhonghua wei zhong bing ji jiu yi xue	2024	Observational Study
Clinical usefulness of a host signature based on TRAIL, IP10, and CRP (MeMed BV) as infection biomarkers in intensive care units' patients. A retrospective observational study	Steckiewicz KP et al.	Clinical biochemistry	2024	Observational Study
Are anti-calcitonin gene-related peptide monoclonal antibodies effective in treating migraine aura? A pilot prospective observational cohort study	Braca S et al.	Neurological sciences : official journal of the Italian Neurological Society and of the Italian Society of Clinical Neurophysiology	2024	Observational Study
[Procalcitonin as sepsis predictor in cardiovascular surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass]	Carrasco-Castilla AI et al.	Revista medica del Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social	2023	Observational Study
Significance of Serum Procalcitonin and C-Reactive Protein in the Diagnosis and Prediction of Spontaneous Bacterial Peritonitis in Decompensated Chronic Liver Disease	Datta IK et al.	Mymensingh medical journal : MMJ	2023	Observational Study
Procalcitonin and C-reactive protein to rule out early bacterial coinfection in COVID-19 critically ill patients	Galli F et al.	Intensive care medicine	2023	Observational Study
Point-of-care procalcitonin testing for lower respiratory tract infection in pulmonary outpatient care has limited value	Raupach D et al.	Pneumologie (Stuttgart, Germany)	2023	Clinical Trial
Is procalcitonin a reliable indicator of sepsis in spinal cord injury patients: an observational cohort study	Anas M et al.	European spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society	2023	Observational Study
An observational study on monoclonal antibodies against calcitonin-gene-related peptide and its receptor	Schiano di Cola F et al.	European journal of neurology	2023	Observational Study
Use of procalcitonin as a biomarker for sepsis in pediatric burns	Oncul U et al.	European journal of pediatrics	2023	Observational Study
Clinical Predictors and Biomarkers in Children With Sepsis and Bacterial Meningitis	Castagno E et al.	Pediatric emergency care	2023	Observational Study
Infection and the evaluation of biomarkers in obstetrics and gynecology patients with infectious disease: a retrospective observational study from clinical pharmacists' consultation experience	Jin J et al.	European journal of medical research	2022	Observational Study
A retrospective observational study of biomarker levels and severity assessment in pediatric community-acquired pneumonia	Bashir A et al.	Medicine	2022	Observational Study
ROLE OF CHANGE IN THE LEVELS OF INFLAMMATORY MARKERS POST DRAINAGE IN PREDICTING OUTCOME IN ACUTE CHOLANGITIS	Jain A et al.	Arquivos de gastroenterologia	2022	Observational Study
Evaluation of the significance of interleukin-6 in the diagnosis of postoperative pneumonia: a prospective study	Chen W et al.	BMC cardiovascular disorders	2022	Observational Study
Migraine monoclonal antibodies against CGRP change brain activity depending on ligand or receptor target - an fMRI study	Basedau H et al.	eLife	2022	Clinical Trial
Extension of Prophylactic Surgery in Medullary Thyroid Carcinoma. Differences Between Sporadic and Hereditary Tumours According to Calcitonin Levels and Lymph Node Involvement	Juez LD et al.	World journal of surgery	2022	Observational Study
The role of procalcitonin as a prognostic factor for acute cholangitis and infections in acute pancreatitis: a prospective cohort study from a European single center	Alberti P et al.	HPB : the official journal of the International Hepato Pancreato Biliary Association	2022	Observational Study
Presence or severity of Hashimoto's thyroiditis does not influence basal calcitonin levels: observations from CROHT biobank	Cvek M et al.	Journal of endocrinological investigation	2022	Observational Study
Serum procalcitonin to differentiate acute antepartum pyelonephritis from asymptomatic bacteriuria and acute cystitis during pregnancy: A multicenter prospective observational study	Huang SY et al.	International journal of gynaecology and obstetrics: the official organ of the International Federation of Gynaecology and Obstetrics	2022	Observational Study
Procalcitonin and C-Reactive Protein as an Early Predictor of Infection in Elective Gastrointestinal Cancer Surgery-a Prospective Observational Study	Das U et al.	Journal of gastrointestinal cancer	2022	Observational Study
Presepsin as a predictor of septic shock in patients with urinary tract infection	Sekine Y et al.	BMC urology	2021	Observational Study

More cited research

Structural and mechanistic insights into dual activation of cagrilintide in amylin and calcitonin receptors (2026, human observational)
Structural and dynamic features of cagrilintide binding to calcitonin and amylin receptors (2025, human trial (non-randomized))
AM833 Is a Novel Agonist of Calcitonin Family G Protein-Coupled Receptors: Pharmacological Comparison with Six Selective and Nonselective Agonists (2021, human trial (non-randomized))
Usefulness of Serum Calcitonin in Patients Without a Suspicious History of Medullary Thyroid Carcinoma and with Thyroid Nodules Without an Indication for Fine-N (2016, human observational)
Does receptor balance matter? - Comparing the efficacies of the dual amylin and calcitonin receptor agonists cagrilintide and KBP-336 on metabolic parameters in (2022, animal)
Effect of teriparatide [rhPTH(1,34)] and calcitonin on intertransverse process fusion in a rabbit model (2010, animal)
Colonic vascular conductance increased by Daikenchuto via calcitonin gene-related peptide and receptor-activity modifying protein 1 (2008, animal)
Vasoactive intestinal and calcitonin gene-related peptides, tyrosine hydroxylase and nitrergic markers in the innervation of the rat central retinal artery (2003, animal)

Conditions researched

Related compounds

FAQ

What is Calcitonin?

A 32-amino-acid hormone that lowers blood calcium; salmon calcitonin (Miacalcin) has been used for Paget disease and osteoporosis.

How many registered human trials study Calcitonin?

The PeptideWhiz trial index lists 38 registered trials for Calcitonin, the most recent from 2026.

How much published research exists on Calcitonin?

The PeptideWhiz paper index links 994 PubMed papers to Calcitonin; by study type, 1183 human and 100 animal studies.

Which conditions is Calcitonin researched for?

Ankylosing spondylitis, Atherosclerosis, cardiovascular disease & high blood pressure, Candida & persistent bacterial infections, Chronic and systemic inflammation, Chronic pain: fibromyalgia & CRPS, Concussion, traumatic brain injury & stroke recovery, Delayed gastric emptying on GLP-1 medicines, Dementia, Alzheimer's & cognitive decline, EBV and reactivated viruses, Endometriosis, Fat loss, obesity & body recomposition, Fatty liver & elevated liver enzymes, Gallbladder and gallstones, Gum disease (periodontal) & oral health, Gut: IBD (Crohn's, colitis), leaky gut, IBS & ulcers, Hashimoto's (autoimmune thyroid), Heart repair: after heart attack, heart failure & enlarged heart, Hyperparathyroidism, Immune system (general), Insulin resistance, prediabetes & type 2 diabetes, Kidney protection (CKD, diabetic kidney, lupus kidney), Lung health, asthma & COPD, Lupus (SLE), Menopause & perimenopause, Migraine, Neuropathy and CRPS, Osteoarthritis, cartilage loss & avoiding joint replacement, Osteoporosis and bone density, Pancreatitis (after the acute phase), Post-surgical inflammation and surgery recovery, Pregnancy and breastfeeding: safety notes, Psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis, Raynaud's, Recurring UTIs, Rheumatoid arthritis, Skin, hair loss, wounds & mast-cell/histamine reactivity, Sleep problems (incl. insomnia on peptides), Thick blood and blood clots, Thyroid problems, Trigeminal neuralgia.

Research and education only. Not medical advice. No dosing guidance. Data: ClinicalTrials.gov registry and PubMed via the PeptideWhiz index (204,289 studies).

Reported dosing ranges from research