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Hypocalcemia is a medical condition characterized by low calcium levels in the blood serum. [5] The normal range of blood calcium is typically between 2.1–2.6 mmol/L (8.8–10.7 mg/dL, 4.3–5.2 mEq/L ), while levels less than 2.1 mmol/L are defined as hypocalcemic.
[citation needed] Molar concentration (mol/L) is used to a higher degree in most of the rest of the world, including the United Kingdom and other parts of Europe and Australia and New Zealand. [4] International units (IU) are based on measured biological activity or effect, or for some substances, a specified equivalent mass. [citation needed]
A number of hormones (e.g. thyroxine, cortisol, testosterone), drugs, and other molecules are bound to albumin in the bloodstream and must be released from albumin before becoming biologically active. For example, calcium binds to albumin; in hypoalbuminemia, there is an increased amount of free ionized calcium, its biologically active form.
Though calcium is the most plentiful electrolyte in the body, a large percentage of it is used to form the bones. [14] It is mainly absorbed and excreted through the GI system. [ 14 ] The majority of calcium resides extracellularly, and it is crucial for the function of neurons , muscle cells , function of enzymes , and coagulation . [ 14 ]
If the underlying cause of the hypocalcemia can be addressed, the hyperparathyroidism will resolve. In people with chronic kidney failure, treatment consists of dietary restriction of phosphorus; supplements containing an active form of vitamin D, such as calcitriol, doxercalciferol, paricalcitol; and phosphate binders, which are either calcium-based and non-calcium based.
The positive predictive value (PPV), or precision, is defined as = + = where a "true positive" is the event that the test makes a positive prediction, and the subject has a positive result under the gold standard, and a "false positive" is the event that the test makes a positive prediction, and the subject has a negative result under the gold standard.
[citation needed] Low activated vitamin D 3 levels are a result of the damaged kidneys' inability to convert vitamin D 3 into its active form, calcitriol, and result in further hypocalcemia. High levels of fibroblast growth factor 23 seem now to be the most important cause of decreased calcitriol levels in CKD patients. [citation needed]
The most striking use of Ca 2+ ions as a structural element in algae occurs in the marine coccolithophores, which use Ca 2+ to form the calcium carbonate plates, with which they are covered. Calcium is needed to form the pectin in the middle lamella of newly formed cells. Calcium is needed to stabilize the permeability of cell membranes.