Project description:Primary hyperparathyroidism (PHPT) is a common disorder in which parathyroid hormone (PTH) is excessively secreted from one or more of the four parathyroid glands. A single benign parathyroid adenoma is the cause in most people. However, multiglandular disease is not rare and is typically seen in familial PHPT syndromes. The genetics of PHPT is usually monoclonal when a single gland is involved and polyclonal when multiglandular disease is present. The genes that have been implicated in PHPT include proto-oncogenes and tumour-suppressor genes. Hypercalcaemia is the biochemical hallmark of PHPT. Usually, the concentration of PTH is frankly increased but can remain within the normal range, which is abnormal in the setting of hypercalcaemia. Normocalcaemic PHPT, a variant in which the serum calcium level is persistently normal but PTH levels are increased in the absence of an obvious inciting stimulus, is now recognized. The clinical presentation of PHPT varies from asymptomatic disease (seen in countries where biochemical screening is routine) to classic symptomatic disease in which renal and/or skeletal complications are observed. Management guidelines have recently been revised to help the clinician to decide on the merits of a parathyroidectomy or a non-surgical course. This Primer covers these areas with particular attention to the epidemiology, clinical presentations, genetics, evaluation and guidelines for the management of PHPT.
Project description:ContextPrimary hyperparathyroidism (PHPT) is associated with increased risk of morbidity and death, and vitamin D levels are a potentially confounding variable.ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to assess morbidity and mortality associated with primary hyperparathyroidism (PHPT).MethodsIn this population-based retrospective matched cohort study, data linkage of biochemistry, hospital admissions, prescribing, imaging, pathology, and deaths was used to identify patients across the region of Tayside, Scotland, who had PHPT from 1997 to 2019. Cox proportional hazards models and hazards ratios (HR) were used to explore the relationship between exposure to PHPT and several clinical outcomes. Comparisons were made with an age- and gender-matched cohort.ResultsIn 11 616 people with PHPT (66.8% female), with a mean follow-up period of 8.8 years, there was an adjusted HR of death of 2.05 (95% CI, 1.97-2.13) for those exposed to PHPT. There was also an increased risk of cardiovascular disease (HR = 1.34; 95% CI, 1.24-1.45), cerebrovascular disease (HR = 1.29; 95% CI, 1.15-1.45), diabetes (HR = 1.39; 95% CI, 1.26-1.54), renal stones (HR = 3.02; 95% CI, 2.19-4.17) and osteoporosis (HR = 1.31; 95% CI, 1.16-1.49). Following adjustment for serum vitamin D concentrations (n = 2748), increased risks for death, diabetes, renal stones, and osteoporosis persisted, but not for cardiovascular or cerebrovascular disease.ConclusionIn a large population-based study, PHPT was associated with death, diabetes, renal stones, and osteoporosis, independent of serum vitamin D concentration.
Project description:Observational studies suggested a link between bone disease and left ventricular (LV) dysfunction that may be pronounced in hyperparathyroid conditions. We therefore aimed to test the hypothesis that circulating markers of bone turnover correlate with LV function in a cohort of patients with primary hyperparathyroidism (pHPT). Cross-sectional data of 155 subjects with pHPT were analyzed who participated in the "Eplerenone in Primary Hyperparathyroidism" (EPATH) Trial. Multivariate linear regression analyses with LV ejection fraction (LVEF, systolic function) or peak early transmitral filling velocity (e', diastolic function) as dependent variables and N-terminal propeptide of procollagen type 1 (P1NP), osteocalcin (OC), bone-specific alkaline phosphatase (BALP), or beta-crosslaps (CTX) as the respective independent variable were performed. Analyses were additionally adjusted for plasma parathyroid hormone, plasma calcium, age, sex, HbA1c, body mass index, mean 24-hours systolic blood pressure, smoking status, estimated glomerular filtration rate, antihypertensive treatment, osteoporosis treatment, 25-hydroxy vitamin D and N-terminal pro-brain B-type natriuretic peptide. Independent relationships were observed between P1NP and LVEF (adjusted β-coefficient = 0.201, P = 0.035) and e' (β = 0.188, P = 0.042), respectively. OC (β = 0.192, P = 0.039) and BALP (β = 0.198, P = 0.030) were each independently related with e'. CTX showed no correlations with LVEF or e'. In conclusion, high bone formation markers were independently and paradoxically related with better LV diastolic and, partly, better systolic function, in the setting of pHPT. Potentially cardio-protective properties of stimulated bone formation in the context of hyperparathyroidism should be explored in future studies.
Project description:Primary hyperparathyroidism is a common condition that affects 0.3% of the general population. Primary and tertiary care specialists can encounter patients with primary hyperparathyroidism, and prompt recognition and treatment can greatly reduce morbidity and mortality from this disease. In this paper we will review the basic physiology of calcium homeostasis and then consider genetic associations as well as common etiologies and presentations of primary hyperparathyroidism. We will consider emerging trends in detection and measurement of parathyroid hormone as well as available imaging modalities for the parathyroid glands. Surgical indications and approach will be reviewed as well as medical management of primary hyperparathyroidism with bisphosphonates and calcimimetics.
Project description:In primary hyperparathyroidism (PHPT), protracted elevation of serum parathyroid hormone (PTH) is held to be associated with cortical, but not trabecular, bone loss. However, an alternative explanation for the apparent preservation of trabecular bone is fragmentation of the cortex by intracortical remodeling. The cortical fragments resemble trabeculae and so may be erroneously included in the quantification of 'trabecular' bone density. To test this hypothesis, we compared bone microarchitecture in 43 patients with untreated PHPT (mean 62.9 years, range 31-84) with 47 healthy age-matched controls and 25 patients with surgically treated PHPT (63.6 years, 30-82). Images of the distal radius and tibia were acquired using high-resolution peripheral quantitative CT and analysed using StrAx1.0, a new software program that quantifies bone morphology in-vivo. Results were expressed as the mean number of standardized deviations (SD) from the age-specific mean (Z scores, mean±SEM). In subjects with PHPT, total tibial cortical area was reduced -0.26±0.08 SD; p=0.002). Cortical volumetric bone mineral density (vBMD) was reduced (-0.29±0.06 SD; p<0.001) due to higher cortical porosity (0.32±0.06 SD; p<0.001) and lower tissue mineralization density (-0.21±0.06 SD; p=0.002). Medullary area was increased (0.26±0.08 SD; p=0.002) and trabecular vBMD was reduced (-0.14±0.04 SD; p<0.001). In subjects who underwent successful parathyroidectomy, cortical area (-0.18±0.10 SD; NS) and medullary area (0.18±0.10 SD; NS) did not differ from controls. Cortical vBMD was reduced (-0.15±0.05 SD; p=0.003) due to high porosity (0.15±0.05 SD; p=0.006), values numerically lower than in untreated PHPT. Tissue mineralization density (-0.26±0.04 SD; p<0.001) and trabecular vBMD were reduced (-0.16±0.04 SD, p<0.001). The results were similar in the distal radius. In PHPT, chronically elevated endogenous PTH does not spare trabecular bone; it causes bone loss and microarchitectural deterioration in both cortical and trabecular compartments of bone.
Project description:OBJECTIVE: Parathyroid hormone (PTH) and vitamin D are the most important hormones regulating calcium metabolism. In primary hyperparathyroidism (PHPT) excessive amounts of PTH are produced. Bone turnover is enhanced, leading to reduced bone mineral density and elevated levels of serum calcium. The aim of this study was to investigate relations between serum levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D), 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D (1,25(OH)(2)D) and bone mineral density, as well as known genetic polymorphisms in the vitamin D receptor and enzymes metabolising vitamin D in patients with PHPT. DESIGN/SUBJECTS: We conducted a cross-sectional study of 52 patients with PHPT. RESULTS: Mean level of 25(OH)D was 58.2 nmol/L and median 1,25(OH)(2)D level was 157 pmol/L. Among our patients with PHPT 36.5% had 25(OH)D levels below 50 nmol/L. Serum 1,25(OH)(2)D was inversely correlated to bone mineral density in distal radius (p?=?0.002), but not to bone mineral density at lumbar spine or femoral neck. The vitamin D receptor polymorphism Apa1 (rs7975232) was associated with bone mineral density in the lumbar spine. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that PHPT patients with high blood concentrations of 1,25(OH)(2)D may have the most deleterious skeletal effects. Randomized, prospective studies are necessary to elucidate whether vitamin D supplementation additionally increases serum 1,25(OH)(2)D and possibly enhances the adverse effects on the skeleton in patients with PHPT.
Project description:Primary hyperparathyroidism (PHPT) is a common endocrine disorder in adults in whom the typical presentation is incidentally discovered as asymptomatic hypercalcemia. PHPT is much less common in children and adolescents, but has greater morbidity in this age group, as most young patients with PHPT will have symptomatic hypercalcemia or complications such as kidney stones, abdominal pain, and skeletal fragility. An important feature of PHPT in younger patients is the relatively high prevalence of germline inactivating mutations of the CASR gene, which encodes the calcium-sensing receptor. Biallelic CASR mutations cause neonatal severe hyperparathyroidism, a life-threatening condition that presents within days of life with marked hypercalcemia, respiratory distress, failure to thrive, and skeletal demineralization. By contrast, more common heterozygous CASR mutations are generally associated with a benign variant of PHPT termed familial hypocalciuric hypercalcemia. Appropriate management of PHPT in children and adolescents requires distinction between familial hypocalciuric hypercalcemia, which generally requires no specific treatment, and other forms of PHPT that are best treated by parathyroidectomy.
Project description:This is the case of a 76-year-old man admitted to hospital in a delirium state, previously diagnosed with a major depressive disorder at an age of 50 years, treated for years for chronic tension headache. The computed tomography of the head resulted negative. Inpatient laboratory tests revealed a mild hypercalcemia. Due to the progression of the disease (delirium state, dementia, tension headache, and depression), he was again admitted to hospital. The patient showed dysarthria, postural tremors, mirror movements and palmar hyperhidrosis, mild ataxia when walking, and rigidity. Sleep disturbances were also observed. He underwent several clinical diagnostic tests, which resulted negative. After more than 2 years, the ultrasound of the neck identified enlarged parathyroid glands. The patient was surgically treated, and three parathyroid glands were removed. Parathyroidectomy and lithium treatment resulted in improvement of cognitive functions. In elderly patients, concomitant presence of cognitive dysfunction may mask the underlying primary hyperparathyroidism.