[Osteocalcin].

Osteocalcin, non-collagenous vitamin K dependent bone protein is as a biochemical indicator of osteoblastic activity and metabolic turnover in bone, valuable in the diagnosis of several diseases and in investigations of the dynamics of osseous changes (processes) during treatment of osteopathies. Elevated osteocalcin levels are normal in childhood and adolescence. In the diurnal rhythm the peak is recorded in the early hours. Pathologically elevated values are associated with primary hyperparathyroidism, Paget's disease, chronic renal failure, acromegaly and some malignities. A rise in women during the early postmenopausal period signalizes an enhanced metabolic turnover of bone in those women who are candidates of postmenopausal osteoporosis. Low levels are as a rule recorded in advanced age, in nanism, hypoparathyroidism, type 1 diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, vitamin D deficiency, vitamin K deficiency, hypercorticalism and glucocorticoid treatment.