CALCIUM-REGULATING HORMONES AND BONE-MINERAL CONTENT IN PATIENTS AFTER SUBTOTAL GASTRECTOMY

Twenty-nine men who had undergone Billroth I gastrectomy and 19 men wh o had undergone Billroth II gastrectomy were studied to examine the ch anges in their calcium regulating hormones and bone mineral content fo llowing surgery. The serum calcium and phosphate concentrations in the patients with Billroth I and Billroth II were normal. The Billroth II group and had an elevated level of serum alkaline phosphatase and red uced bone mineral content. The 24,25(OH)2D concentration was reduced ( P < 0.01) and 25(OH)D and 1,25(OH)2D concentrations were increased (P < 0.01, P < 0.05, respectively) in the Billroth II group. It was sugge sted by our study that the Billroth II patients had a reduced bone min eral content and an elevated 1,25(OH)2D concentration. Therefore, the pathophysiology of postgastrectomy bone metabolic disease is not due t o vitamin D deficiency, but may instead be due to reduced calcium abso rption in the intestine.