Effect of calcitonin on bone formation and resorption: Mathematical modeling approach

Abstract

We study the effect of calcitonin on bone formation and resorption mathematically by developing a system of nonlinear differential equations to describe the process. The model accounts for the concentration of calcitonin above the basal level, the number of active osteoclastic cells and the number of the active osteoblastic cells. We then applied the singular perturbation to our model in order to obtain the conditions on the system parameters for which the various kinds of dynamic behavior can be occurred. Computer simulations are also carried out to support our theoretical predictions. The results show that a periodic behavior can be expected corresponding to the pulsatile secretion pattern of calcitonin observed clinically in normal individuals.