Background: 1,25-Dihydroxy-22-oxavitamin D(3) (22-oxacalcitriol, OCT) is an analogue of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D(3) (1,25(OH)(2)D(3), calcitriol) with less calcaemic activity, thus more suitable than 1,25(OH)(2)D(3) for the control of parathyroid hormone (PTH) secretion in chronic dialysis patients. As the low-calcaemic action of OCT has been mainly attributed to its short half-life in the blood stream, the number of doses per week is the key factor to effective OCT therapy toward suppression of PTH secretion and hypercalcaemia. Thus, we investigated a comparison between daily and thrice-weekly i.v. administration of OCT regarding suppression of PTH secretion and calcaemic action in 5/6 nephrectomized rats as a model for chronic renal failure.
Methods: Model rats of chronic renal failure were made by 5/6 nephrectomy. At 3 months after surgery, they were administered either vehicle or OCT intravenously, daily (0.125 or 0.625 microg/kg) or thrice-weekly (0.6 or 3.0 microg/kg) for 2 weeks.
Results: The data show that 0.625 microg/kg/day (=4.375 microg/kg/week) suppresses PTH secretion with significant increase in calcium levels at 24 h after the final administration, on the other hand, 3.0 microg/kg/ thrice-weekly (=9.0 microg/kg/week) suppresses PTH secretion, although moderate compared with 0.625 microg/kg/day, with a slight (not significant) increase in calcium.
Conclusions: The current clinical mode of OCT therapy, i.v. thrice-weekly administration, is a practically recommendable protocol.