Calcitonin dosage and evidence
Written by Aaron CuhaReviewed Sep 2026
The short answer
Calcitonin is a hormone that lowers blood calcium. The salmon form is FDA-approved for bone thinning, Paget's disease and high calcium.
Evidence grade for Calcitonin: Preliminary. The rule: studied in people, but no published study has had people take it. The sum on this page: 1 human study where nobody was given it. A grade counts how much has been done to people, not whether it works.
- People given it
- 0
- Human studies
- 0
- Found nothing
- 0
Dose
No human dose established
No published study on this page has given this compound to people and reported a result.
1 human study where nobody was given it
2 effects reported, 1 unwanted, 1 wanted, by people using it, not a trial
In plain English
In plain English, from Aaron
This is how I would explain it to a friend. The evidence, with the numbers, is further down the page.
Calcitonin is a hormone that lowers blood calcium and slows bone breakdown. The salmon form is the one used as a drug, as a shot or a nose spray. It is approved for bone thinning after menopause, Paget's disease of bone, and high blood calcium. Doctors now reach for stronger drugs first for bone thinning.
What people take it for
- Slowing bone loss after menopause.
- Paget's disease of bone.
- Bringing down high blood calcium.
What studies in people showed
The biggest study had 1,255 women with thin bones who used a nose spray for five years. At the middle dose, 200 IU, new spine fractures fell by 33 percent. The lower and higher doses did not clearly work. A real drug effect usually grows with the dose. When only the middle dose works, the result may not be real.
What people report
Reports, not study results
The good
- At one dose, spine fractures fell by a third in its big study.
The bad
- The lower and higher doses did not clearly work, which makes the result shaky.
- The study on this page does not list side effects, and we have not collected user reports on this one yet.
Where these come from: Everything here is from the human study on this page. We have not collected forum or user reports for this one yet.
My bottom line
An old drug with shaky bone results. Doctors now reach for stronger drugs first. Ask about those.
An opinion, not a finding. I am a coach, not a doctor.
What it has been measured to do
Nothing indexed yet
The 2 citations on this page do not report a result for any of the 36 goals indexed here. Most of what sits here is something else: a listing of a planned study, a study of how the body handles the drug, a safety report or a government record. None of those tests whether it works.
Show full evidence
What is Calcitonin?
Calcitonin is a hormone that lowers blood calcium. The salmon form is FDA-approved for bone thinning, Paget's disease and high calcium.
Calcitonin is a hormone that lowers blood calcium. It works on osteoclasts, the cells that break bone down, and slows them. The salmon form works much more strongly on the human receptor than human calcitonin does, so it is the one doctors use. It is FDA-approved for bone thinning after menopause, Paget's disease of bone and high blood calcium. Its results in bone thinning are modest and uneven. In the five-year PROOF study of 1,255 women, a 200 IU nose spray cut new spine fractures by 33%. The 100 and 400 IU doses did not clearly work. Stronger drugs now come first for bone thinning, but it is still an approved peptide hormone drug.
How does Calcitonin work?
It switches on calcitonin receptors on the cells that break down bone. That slows bone breakdown and lowers blood calcium.
The evidence, in charts
Fig. 1a · how many people
1,255people, across 1 study in people cited here
| Study | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| PROOF, American Journal of Medicine 2000 | 1,255 | 100% |
The whole total is one study of 1,255. Counts are the number of people each study on this page says it signed up. That includes studies that only watched people and gave nobody the compound. Studies still signing people up are left out, and only studies cited on this page are counted.
Fig. 1b · evidence mix
1 of 2 sources here is a study in people. The rest is not.
- Study in people · done in people150%
- Review of studies · sums up other studies150%
Counted from the list of sources on this page. It counts only what we cite, so there may be more studies out there. A review counts once, however many studies it sums up.
Fig. 2 · evidence over time
Sources here come from just two years, 2000 and 2008.
Too few different years on this page to draw a timeline. The newest source on file is from 2008, more than five years ago. Research on it may have gone quiet.
Fig. 3 · legal status at a glance
US
Approved
UK
Approved
AU
Approved
CA
Approved
Approved in all four countries shown. This is what the law says, not a verdict on the science. See Legal status below for the full text and any notes.
Fig. 5 · what the molecule is
- Kind of compound
- Peptide
- Molecule weight
- 3,431.9 Da
- Half-life
- About 1 hoursShort, 1 to 6 hours
- Chain length
- None on file
No amino acid sequence is on file for Calcitonin, so none is drawn rather than guessed from a name.
The studies we cite
- Study in people2000A randomized trial of nasal spray salmon calcitonin in postmenopausal women with established osteoporosis: the prevent recurrence of osteoporotic fractures study (PROOF)
One dose worked and the doses either side of it did not, which is the problem with this trial. Over twelve hundred women with thin bones used a nasal spray for five years. At the middle dose, spine fractures fell by about a third. At the low dose and at the high dose, the effect was too small to separate from chance. A real drug effect usually grows with the dose. When only the middle one works, the honest reading is that the result may not be real.
1,255 women over 5 years: 200 IU nasal calcitonin cut new vertebral fractures by 33%; 100 and 400 IU doses did not reach significance.
- Review of studies2008Salmon calcitonin: a review of current and future therapeutic indications
A review of 30 years of salmon calcitonin: how it works, and its use in bone thinning and Paget's disease.
Reviews salmon calcitonin's physiology and its use in osteoporosis and Paget's disease over 30 years.
Where to buy Calcitonin
Calcitonin is an approved medicine. The approved product comes from a pharmacy, with a prescription. The vials below are sold “for research” and are not the approved drug.
No seller we track lists Calcitonin yet. We read sellers’ public product lists every week, and this section fills in as soon as one does. Every seller, graded
Common questions
Has Calcitonin been tested in people?
Not in a completed trial cited here. 1 human study where nobody was given it. Calcitonin is a hormone that lowers blood calcium. The salmon form is FDA-approved for bone thinning, Paget's disease and high calcium.
What is the Calcitonin dosage?
No human dose established. No published study on this page has given this compound to people and reported a result. 1 human study where nobody was given it
Is Calcitonin FDA-approved?
FDA-approved (salmon calcitonin)
Why salmon calcitonin?
Salmon calcitonin works much more strongly on the human receptor than human calcitonin does. So it is the form doctors use.