ABSTRACT Objective: To determine the frequency and types of breast calcif ication, the distribution of breast imaging-reporting and data system (BI-RADS) scores, and the association between calcif ication and biochemical/clinical findings in patients with primary hyperparathyroidism (PHPT). Subjects and methods: We recruited ≥ 40-year-old female patients with PHPT (n = 104) and age-matched healthy women (n = 107) as controls. Mammography was performed on all participants. Calcif ication, calcif ication type, and BI-RADS scores were recorded, and patients were divided […]

SUMMARY Denosumab is a potent antiresorptive medication, commonly used in the treatment of osteoporosis, as well as in a variety of other diseases. Potential adverse rebound effects after its cessation include a loss in bone mineral density and an increased risk of osteoporotic fractures. Hypercalcemia is a less frequently reported rebound phenomenon after denosumab discontinuation, that may pose a diagnostic challenge to physicians as a rare non-parathyroid hormone (PTH) dependent cause of hypercalcemia. In our case, a 47-year-old male presented […]

ABSTRACT Objective: The study sought to determine the clinical features of hyperparathyroid-induced hypercalcemic crisis (HIHC) along with treatment options and outcomes. Subjects and methods: This is a retrospective analysis of our historical cohort of patients with primary hyperparathyroidism (PHPT). Patients were divided in groups according to their calcium levels and clinical presentation. HIHC (group 1) was assumed when patients had high calcium levels and needed emergency hospitalization. Group 2 was composed of patients with calcium levels above 16 mg/dL or […]

ABSTRACT Primary hyperparathyroidism (PHPT) is an endocrine disorder resulting from the hyperfunction of one or more parathyroid glands, with hypersecretion of parathyroid hormone (PTH). It can be managed by parathyroidectomy (PTX) or non-surgically. Medical therapy with pharmacological agents is an alternative for those patients with asymptomatic PHPT who meet guidelines for surgery but are unable or unwilling to undergo PTX. In this review, we focus upon these non-surgical aspects of PHPT management. We emphasize the most studied and widely used […]

Despite recent advances in pharmacological treatment of psychiatric disorders, lithium salts remain frequently used, as they are effective and inexpensive alternatives, especially in the treatment of bipolar disorders. Their use is commonly associated with various endocrine disorders, mainly in thyroid and parathyroid function, and in mineral metabolism. This article aims at reviewing these potential endocrinopathies related to the use of lithium to make health care professionals aware and familiar with these possible complications when they follow up patients using this […]

BACKGROUND: Severe hypercalcemia is the leading cause of death in patients with parathyroid carcinoma. Non-curative resection and pharmacological measures may be useful for palliation in cases with recurrent and metastatic disease. Palliative treatment with intra-neoplastic ethanol injection has not been reported yet. METHODS: Ultrasound-guided percutaneous alcohol injection in one patient with unresectable parathyroid carcinoma is reported. RESULTS: One male patient with extensive recurrent parathyroid carcinoma suffering from severe hypercalcemia, refractory to all available medical measures has undergone two percutaneous ethanol […]

Our objective is to evaluate and describe one family with six cases of familial isolated primary hyperparathyroidism (HFI), a rare hereditable disorder with an autossomal dominant mode of inheritance. It is characterized by a primary hyperparathyroidism without association with other endocrine tumors or diseases. The HFI diagnosis relied on the demonstration of hypercalcemia, inappropriately high levels of parathyroid hormone, and parathyroid adenomas, plus exclusion of NEM 1/2a and HPT/TM syndrome in this family. We analyzed the description of the first […]

Parathyroid carcinoma is a rare condition, comprising less than 1% of the cases of primary hyperparathyroidism (PHP). Nonetheless, due to its aggressiveness, and having prognosis dependent on the precocity of diagnosis and radical therapeutic approach, it is paramount that the clinical suspicion be made before surgery. Clinical presentation is typical of severe PHP, with a parathyroid tumor >1.5cm, usually palpable. The pathologic features sometimes are difficult to characterize. Our experience with this condition (from 1983 to 2004) includes 7 cases, […]

Hypercalcemia associated with malignancies is reported in up to 20 to 30% of patients with cancer during the course of the disease, and points to a poor prognosis. Symptoms related to the central nervous system, as progressive mental impairment, stupor and coma, predominate. Alterations in kidney function (water-concentrating defect leading to polyuria) and gastrointestinal tract (anorexia, nausea, vomiting) corroborate to dehydration and a further increase in serum calcium. Cancer-induced hypercalcemia may be classified as: 1) local osteolytic hypercalcemia (LOH), due […]

Primary hyperparathyroidism (PHP) is a metabolic illness that results from autonomous secretion of parathyroid hormone and is one of the most common causes of hypercalcemia. We present the case of a 47-year-old female with a previous diagnosis of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) in whom clinical (diffuse bone pain, emotional lability, jaw tumor) and laboratory features (calcium= 13.5mg/dL, phosphate= 1.8mg/dL, alkaline phosphatase= 3028U/L, PTH intact= 1472pg/dL) prompted the diagnosis of PHP secondary to parathyroid adenoma as demonstrated by the anatomopathology. After […]

The necrosis of the subcutaneous fat tissue (NSFT) of the newborn is an acute hypodermatitis that has its onset during the first four weeks of life. It occurs in children born after complicated labors or who suffer fetal distress. Inflammatory purplish plaques or subcutaneous nodules of different sizes appear, usually waning spontaneously after a year. These lesions may be associated to hypercalcemia which can be serious and life-threatening. We describe a case of NSFT in which the lesions were not […]

Primary hyperparathyroidism (PHP) is a frequent endocrinopathy. Increased serum calcium levels may be considered as a potential marker for parathyroid autonomy and this explains why PHP should be routinely investigated in whoever presents with hypercalcemia. High or inappropriately normal PTH levels in the presence of hypercalcemia are very suggestive of PHP. On the other hand, PHP is very unlikely in the absence of hypercalcemia. Extracellular calcium concentrations may be evaluated by the measurement of total or ionized calcium, but the […]