Screening for parathyroid hormone resistance in patients with nonphenotypically evident pseudohypoparathyroidism.

OBJECTIVE: Hypocalcemia and hyperphosphatemia in the setting of elevated parathyroid hormone (PTH) and normal vitamin D metabolites, raises the possibility of PTH resistance. The idiopathic and inherited forms of PTH resistance are referred to as pseudohypoparathyroidism. Nonphenotypically evident pseudohypoparathyroidism can go undiagnosed for decades. We have designed a new test to diagnose PTH resistance and confirmed its clinical utility in the diagnosis of pseudohypoparathyroidism. METHODS: Our test consists of a subcutaneous injection of commercially available recombinant PTH and concomitant measurement of cyclic adenosine monophosphate in urine. We implemented the test in 2 patients with recalcitrant hypocalcemia and a healthy control subject. RESULTS: Our test unequivocally demonstrated PTH resistance in both patients. One of the patients had phenotypically evident pseudohypoparathyroidism type-1a hence, PTH resistance was suspected. The other patient with nonphenotypically evident disease, also showed PTH resistance and was later demonstrated to have pseudohypoparathyroidism type-1b at the genomic level and confirmed to be of familial type. CONCLUSION: Our results show for the first time the implementation of a simple new diagnostic tool designed to check for PTH resistance. This new test has already proven to be useful in few occasions at our institution. Larger populations, however, should be tested before implementation of such a test is considered a standard of care.

Treatment of hypocalcemia caused by hypoparathyroidism or pseudohypoparathyroidism with domestic-made calcitriol: a prospective and self-controlled clinical trial.

BACKGROUND: Parathyroid hormone deficiency or resistance may cause hypocalcemia with related symptoms and signs. Lifelong treatment of calcium combined with vitamin D or its metabolites is always necessary for these patients. Here we reported a prospective and open-label trial to investigate the efficacy and safety of domestic-made calcitriol in treatment of hypocalcemia caused by hypoparathyroidism or pseudohypoparathyroidism. METHODS: Twenty-four patients with confirmed hypoparathyroidism or pseudohypoparathyroidism aged (36.5 +/- 11.0) years old were studied. Among them, 16 patients had idiopathic hypoparathyroidism, 2 had pseudohypoparathyroidism and 6 had hypoparathyroidism secondary to cervical surgery. Serum calcium levels were lower than 1.88 mmol/L. Oral calcitriol was administered twice or three times with elemental calcium 1.2 g per day. All patients were followed every 4 weeks throughout the 12-week period. Dose adjustments of calcitriol were based on serum and urinary calcium levels and symptoms of hypocalcemia. RESULTS: Twenty patients were included by the end of this study. Muscular weakness, cramps, extremity paresthesia, Chovestek's sign and Trousseau's sign were relieved in 76.9%, 100%, 94.4%, 93.3% and 78.9% of patients, respectively. Serum calcium, plasma ionized calcium and serum phosphorus levels were (1.54+/-0.25) mmol/L, (0.64+/-0.10) mmol/L and (2.00+/-0.46) mmol/L at baseline, and reached (2.20+/-0.20) mmol/L, (0.95+/-0.06) mmol/L and (1.68+/-0.25) mmol/L (P<0.01) at the 12th week of treatment, respectively. Eighty percent of patients were assessed as effective and 20% as partly effective. Three, four and eight patients had hypercalciuria at the 4th, 8th and 12th week of treatment, respectively, which were reduced by thiazide diuretics. The final dose of calcitriol was (1.09+/-0.50) microg/d. CONCLUSIONS: Calcitriol combined with calcium can be used in treatment of hypocalcemia caused by hypoparathyroidism or pseudohypoparathyroidism effectively and safely. Serum and urinary calcium levels should be monitored during the course of the therapy.

Skeletal responsiveness to parathyroid hormone in pseudohypoparathyroidism.

BACKGROUND: Although there have been some case reports suggesting that bone in patients with pseudohypoparathyroidism (PHP) might respond to parathyroid hormone (PTH), no information is available as to whether serum PTH concentration is related to bone metabolic markers or to bone mineral density (BMD) in PHP. OBJECTIVE: To address these relationships, by comparing intact serum PTH, bone metabolic markers and BMD in patients with PHP with those in patients with idiopathic hypoparathyroidism (IHP) and postoperative hypoparathyroidism (OHP). METHODS: Intact serum PTH, bone metabolic markers (osteocalcin, tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase, pyridinoline, deoxypyridinoline) and BMD by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry or single-photon absorptiometry were measured in patients with PHP Ia (n=2) and PHP Ib (n=8). The results were compared with those in patients with IHP (n=5) and OHP (n=14). RESULTS: All bone metabolic markers measured were present in significantly greater amounts in patients with PHP Ib than in those with IHP+OHP. The Z score (standard deviation of average BMD at each age) of the BMD of femoral neck was significantly lower in patients with PHP Ib than in those with IHP+OHP. The Z scores of BMD of lumbar spine and radius were also lower in patients with PHP Ib than in those with IHP+OHP, but the difference was not significant. Moreover, the intact serum PTH concentrations were significantly and positively related to bone metabolic marker levels in all patients, and the intact serum PTH concentrations were significantly and negatively related to BMD of lumbar spine in PHP patients. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that PTH stimulates bone turnover in PHP Ib patients, resulting in a relatively lower BMD in PHP Ib patients than in IHP+OHP patients. The present study indicates that bones of most cases of PHP could respond to PTH.

Increased urinary phosphate excretion in pseudohypoparathyroidism type II with long-term treatment with phosphodiesterase inhibitor.

A 58-year-old woman was diagnosed to have pseudohypoparathyroidism (PHP) type II because of the absence of an increase of urinary phosphate secretion, despite a marked increase in urinary cAMP excretion on the Ellsworth-Howard test. We treated the patient with a cyclic-nucleotide phosphodiesterase inhibitor, theophylline, resulting in increased urinary phosphate and cAMP excretions. Dibutyl cAMP administration induced the increase in the urinary phosphate excretion. In this case, the unresponsiveness of the urinary phosphate secretion to cAMP was recovered by a high dose of cAMP or long-term administration of a phosphodiesterase inhibitor. These data imply that cAMP responsiveness to renal tubular phosphate reabsorption should be more strictly elucidated in the patient with PHP type II.

[Radiologic anomalies of pseudohypoparathyroidism: diagnostic importance]. / Les anomalies radiologiques de la pseudohypoparathyroïdie: importance diagnostique.

Pseudohypoparathyroidism is a congenital metabolic disorder which is often revealed by growth retardation. The diagnosis may be suggested by plain radiological findings such as short metacarpals, mainly the fourth, epiphyseal anomalies or subcutaneous calcifications. The following biological tests are mandatory to confirm this diagnosis: CaP workup and plasma level of PTH; urine cAMP measurement after PTH challenge; Evaluation of protein Gs activity In this study of 20 cases displays will be reviewed the different radiological findings seen in patients with PsHP and the relative value discussed, such as narrowing of the spinal canal and presence of bony findings of hyperparathyroidism.

[A case of pseudohypoparathyroidism (PHP) type II associated with Bartter's syndrome--restoration of phosphaturic response to parathyroid hormone (PTH) by treatment for hypopotassemia].

We report a case of PHP Type II whose phosphaturic response to PTH was restored by treatment for complicated Bartter's syndrome. A 34-year-old woman was admitted to our hospital in July 1990 because of tetanic convulsion. The physical examination showed normal blood pressure (118/62mmHg), round face without shortness of metacarpal bones and positive Trousseau's sign. Although renal function was normal, hypocalcemia (6.5mg/dl) and hyperphosphatemia (4.8mg/dl) in association with high levels of serum PTH (942pg/ml) and 1.25 (OH)2D3 (86pg/ml) were disclosed. Ellsworth-Howard test revealed that there was no increase in the urinary secretion of phosphate despite an increase in urinary cAMP excretion. On the other hand, hypopotassemia (2.5mEq/l) and metabolic alkalosis with high plasma renin activity (22.8ng/ml/hr) and aldosterone concentration (22.7ng/dl) were coexistent. Pressor response to angiotensin II infusion was blunted. Although no glomeruli were obtained by renal biopsy specimen, vacuolar degeneration on proximal tubules were noted. These findings indicated that she had PHP Type II associated with Bartter's syndrome. By administration of potassium (24mEq/day), spironolactone (50mg/day) and only small doses of 1 alpha-hydroxyvitamin D3 (0.5mg/day), serum levels of potassium as well as calcium were normalized and tetanic attacks disappeared. In March 1991, she was re-examined by Ellsworth-Howard test in order to clarify the effects of hypopotassemia on renal tubular response to PTH. Interestingly, phosphaturic response to PTH was restored, and the degree of increase in urinary cAMP excretion was 4 times as high as that on the first admission. These results suggest that hypopotassemia changes the response of renal proximal tubular cells to PTH, particularly such as reabsorption of phosphate and cAMP response, although it is possible that hypocalcemia may contribute to the blunted phosphaturic response to PTH. The mechanism of hypocalcemia seen in this case remains to be elucidated.

Separation of pseudohypoparathyroidism into types I and II using only basal nephrogenous cAMP determinations.

The separation of pseudohypoparathyroidism (PHP) into Type I (non responders, usually with signs of Allright's hereditary osteodystrophy--AHO--and resistance to other hormones secretion) and Type II (responders) is classically done with the parathyroid hormone (PTH) infusion test using as criterion of cellular response total urinary cAMP determinations. But since total urinary cAMP is not an accurate index of intracellular cAMP production from the renal tubular cells--as is nephrogenous cAMP (NcAMP)--it was considered worthwhile to examine the diagnostic value of NcAMP in this case. A total of 12 PHP patients were studied along with 19 controls of corresponding age and sex. All 31 persons underwent--inter alia--to a 2 hrs I.V. PTH infusion test with 500 I.U. of human 1-34 PTH. Using as criterion total urinary cAMP, the PHP patients were separated into Type I (7 patients, of whom 5 with AHO) and Type II (5 patients). The same results were obtained when the NcAMP stimulation values were used instead, although in PHP Type II patients the mean increase of NcAMP at the end of PTH infusion was 2 fold than the corresponding increase of total urinary cAMP. But the most impressing finding was that the separation of PHP patients to the Types I or II was possible by using the basal NcAMP values only (NcAMP basal values ranged from 0.35 to 0.56 nmols/100 ml GFR in Type I and from 0.93 to 1.75 in Type II PHP). These results render possible the use of NcAMP basal values as a screening test for the separation of PHP patients into Types I and II.

Response of plasma 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D in the human PTH(1-34) infusion test: an improved index for the diagnosis of idiopathic hypoparathyroidism and pseudohypoparathyroidism.

Synthetic human parathyroid hormone (1-34) (hPTH(1-34] infusion test has been utilized in the differential diagnosis of hypoparathyroidism by examining the incremental response of urinary phosphate and cyclic adenosine monophosphate (AMP). The response of plasma levels of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D (1,25(OH)2D) in parathyroid hormone (PTH) infusion test was studied as a new criterion for the differential diagnosis of idiopathic hypoparathyroidism (IHP) and pseudohypoparathyroidism (PHP). Fourteen patients with IHP, 4 patients with PHP, and five control subjects were studied. All subjects received an intravenous infusion of 30 micrograms hPTH(1-34) over 5 minutes. The basal levels of plasma 1,25(OH)2D in patients with IHP and PHP were significantly lower than those in control subjects, but there was no significant difference between the levels in patients with IHP and in patients with PHP. The plasma levels of 1,25(OH)2D increased after the infusion of hPTH(1-34) and reached a peak 6 to 24 hours afterward. The 1,25(OH)2D increase at 24 hours afterward the infusion (delta 1,25(OH)2D) in control subjects and in patients with IHP were 18.1 +/- 3.91 (mean +/- SEM) and 24.1 +/- 2.80 pg/ml, respectively. There was no significant increase in patients with PHP (delta 1,25(OH)2D = 4.9 +/- 1.97 pg/ml). From these results, the measurement of delta 1,25(OH)2D in hPTH(1-34) infusion test is useful as a criterion for the differential diagnosis of hypoparathyroidism.

Ionized calcium and cyclic AMP in plasma and urine. Biochemical evaluation in calcium metabolic disease.

Measurement of ionized calcium and cAMP in plasma and urine are used as sensitive parameters for the evaluation of calcium disorders. Ionized calcium is accepted as the biologically active form of calcium in the extracellular fluid, while urine cAMP provides an in vivo receptor assay for the biologically active parathyroid hormone. When urine is included as part of the calcium metabolic investigation it usually requires 24 h urine collection with a variety of different laboratory tests. Ionized calcium and cAMP are described in the literature in terms of several derived quantities, nomenclatures, and units which are rather unsystematic. The author developed reliable techniques and proposed systematic names and symbols and reference values for these quantities. Due to the lack of guidelines for the collection of urines in calcium metabolic evaluation, the author presented a simplified protocol (4 h standardized urine collection). In clinical investigation plasma and urine cAMP have been used to differentiate idiopathic hypoparathyroidism from pseudohypoparathyroidism (PsHP) based on the results of i.v. injection of parathyroid hormone (PTH). Nephrogenous cAMP has also been used for the detection of primary and secondary hyperparathyroidism with a high nosographic sensitivity (90%) (Broadus). The author showed that measurement of cAMP after i.v. PTH was a reliable and sensitive test to establish the diagnosis of PsHP, and that the urinary cAMP was useful for the diagnosis of secondary hyperparathyroidism in patients with jejunoileal bypass, but could not confirm the high nosographic sensitivity for the diagnosis of primary hyperparathyroidism. Further data are needed for proper conclusion. Although pursued vigorously the research into idiopathic stone formation using different protocols has not prevented stone recurrence nor indicated where further progress might be made. For the evaluation of recurrent calcium disease, the author proposed a simplified 4 h standardized urine collection with plasma albumin, urinary pH, standardized excretion rate of calcium, plasma phosphate glomerular filtration rate, and nephrogenous cAMP as the most important parameters. In this way the author obtained a sensitivity of 93% and specificity of 95.6% for the diagnosis of recurrent stone former. The test may therefore be of value for predicting the risk of recurrent stone formation in the single stone former.

[Type I pseudohypoparathyroidism. Study and prolonged follow-up of a case]. / Pseudohipoparatiroidismo tipo I. Estudio y seguimiento prolongado de un caso.

The prolonged evolution of a case of pseudohypoparathyroidism with hereditary osteodystrophy (AHO) and osteitis fibrosa is presented. The diagnosis was confirmed by the existence of a peculiar phenotype, hypocalcaemia, hyperphosphatemia, increased PTH values, and a lack of tubular response after PTH and radiological signs of hyperparathyroidism. The clinical and biochemical evolution, under 1.25 (OH)2D3 therapy with special emphasis on the growth and development were shown. The bibliography was also reviewed.

Pseudohypoparathyroidism showing positive phosphaturic and negative cyclic AMP excretion response to parathyroid hormone.

We report a patient with pseudohypoparathyroidism (PHP) in whom parathyroid hormone (PTH) infusion failed to produce an increase in urinary adenosine 3', 5' monophosphate (cAMP) excretion in spite of the positive urinary phosphate excretion. The dbcAMP infusion test showed almost the same increase in phosphate as in the E-H test, although high urinary cAMP excretion was detected. Furthermore, a PTH infusion test in combination with calcium antagonist (diltiazem) administration markedly increased phosphate excretion, whereas the response of urinary cAMP excretion also remained negative. After treatment with 1 alpha(OH)D3, phosphaturic response increased by at least 14.3 mg/2 h compared with that in the pretreatment period. Therefore, intra and extra cellular calcium seem to affect the phosphaturic response induced by PTH.

Synthetic human parathyroid hormone-(1-34) for the study of pseudohypoparathyroidism.

The synthetic amino-terminal fragment of PTH, PTH-(1-34), was recently released for clinical testing of PTH responsiveness. We measured the urinary cAMP and phosphaturic responses to infusion of PTH-(1-34) [3U/kg BW (200 U maximum), iv in 10 min] in patients with pseudohypoparathyroidism and idiopathic hypoparathyroidism, as well as normal subjects. The protocol used data from 5 30-min urine collections and 4 blood samples. Based on the results in 7 patients with pseudohypoparathyroidism (hypocalcemia with increased serum immunoreactive PTH concentrations), 2 patients with suspected pseudohypoparathyroidism, 9 patients with surgical hypoparathyroidism, and 10 normal subjects, this testing protocol differentiated well among these conditions. The patients with pseudohypoparathyroidism had blunted cAMP and phosphaturic responses to PTH-(1-34) administration compared to those of either normal or hypoparathyroid subjects. Induced hypercalcemia failed to restore a normal cAMP response to PTH-(1-34) infusion in 2 patients with pseudohypoparathyroidism. Calculation of the cAMP response to PTH-(1-34) as nanomoles per dL glomerular filtrate during the first 30 min after infusion provided better differentiation among groups than other parameters of cAMP metabolism. Calculating the phosphaturic response as the percent fall in tubular maximum for phosphate reabsorption during the first hour after infusion gave the best degree of statistical separation among groups. We conclude that this new diagnostic agent is effective for the study of renal responsiveness to PTH, and that the protocol described here reliably differentiates patients with pseudohypoparathyroidism from those with hypocalcemia due to other causes.

Effect of intravenous glucagon on the urinary excretion of adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate in man and in rats. Evidence for activation of renal adenylate cyclase and formation of nephrogenous cAMP.

To examine the effect of glucagon in vivo on renal formation and excretion of cAMP, clearance studies were performed in patients with hypoparathyroidism and in parathyroidectomized rats. Four patients with idiopathic hypoparathyroidism and 2 patients with pseudohypoparathyroidism were studied during an intravenous glucagon infusion (20 micrograms/kg body weight). In all patients, glucagon induced a significant increase in nephrogenous cAMP and a 2- to 3-fold increase in fractional excretion of phosphate. The average increase in nephrogenous cAMP was from a baseline of 784 +/- 229 to 18,748 +/- 3,842 pmol/100 ml glomerular filtrate (GF) (p less than 0.01) and occurred 30-60 min after the beginning of the glucagon infusion. The effect of intravenous glucagon, given as a bolus, was further examined in parathyroidectomized rats. Glucagon elicited a significant increase in the urinary excretion of the nucleotide. The excreted cAMP was compared with its filtered load for each urine collection period. In the first two collections, 0-15 and 15-30 min, the filtered load of cAMP was higher than its urinary excretion. During the following periods, 30-90 min, the excreted urinary cAMP exceeded by far its filtered load, suggesting a net nephrogenous contribution to the excretion of the nucleotide. Infusion of exogenous cAMP to parathyroidectomized rats induced significant increments in the filtered load and urinary excretion of the nucleotide. Tubular secretion of extrarenal cAMP could not be detected during the cAMP infusion. These results provide evidence supporting in vivo a possible parathyroid-independent formation of nephrogenous cAMP after glucagon administration, in men and in rats. The glucagon-induced increase in nephrogenous cAMP seems to account, at least partly, for some of the renal actions of this hormone.

A 6-hour human parathyroid hormone (1-34) infusion protocol: studies in normal and hypoparathyroid subjects.

Parathyroid hormone (PTH)-resistant states are usually diagnosed by the failure of an acute PTH injection to elicit a rise in urinary cAMP and phosphate or, less commonly, by the failure of repeated PTH injections to raise serum calcium. We have established a 6 hour infusion of human PTH (1-34) which identifies PTH-resistant hypoparathyroid subjects on the basis of serum 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D (1,25(OH)2D) and calcium responses. 1,25-Dihydroxyvitamin D levels increased by at least 58 pmol/liter and serum calcium by at least 0.1 mmol/liter in PTH-responsive hypoparathyroid subjects (n = 6), whereas in pseudohypoparathyroid subjects (n = 5) these levels rose by less than 22 pmol/liter and 0.06 mmol/liter respectively. The responsiveness of urinary phosphate excretion, expressed as the renal threshold phosphate concentration (TmPO4/GFR), to PTH also clearly separated the pseudohypoparathyroid patients from the other subjects. Differences in urinary calcium responses were observed though this parameter was less reliable in the identification of individual PTH-resistant or PTH-sensitive hypoparathyroid patients. Nephrogenous cAMP did not discriminate between groups when this protocol was used. This test has the potential to facilitate and extend the classification of PTH-resistant states.

Pseudohypoparathyroidism: inheritance and expression of deficient receptor-cyclase coupling protein activity.

Pseudohypoparathyroidism, Type I (PSP-I) is a familial disorder characterized by secondary hyperparathyroidism, resistance of urinary cyclic adenosine-3', 5'-monophosphate (cAMP) excretion to exogenous parathyroid hormone (PTH), and by effects upon other hormones, including thyrotrophin (TSH) hyperresponsiveness to thyroliberin (TRH). In the present study, 12 PSP-I patients in five families exhibited partial deficiency of receptor-cyclase coupling protein (N protein) in blood cells, in association with the skeletal findings of Albright's hereditary osteodystrophy. In one father and six mothers of PSP-I patients, deficient N protein activity was associated with normal urinary cAMP responses to PTH. In this group of seven parents, five had Albright's osteodystrophy, two exhibited secondary hyperparathyroidism, and two had TSH hyperresponsiveness to TRH. In a sixth family with none of the features of Albright's osteodystrophy, N protein deficiency did not correlate with urinary cAMP responsiveness to PTH. In this kindred, one mother with N protein deficiency, but normal urinary cAMP responsiveness to PTH had raised serum levels of immunoreactive PTH. We conclude that in the majority of families with PSP-I the urinary cAMP response to PTH is an inadequate indicator of the genetic defect. In such families, deficiency of N activity more consistently points to metabolic defects, including secondary hyperparathyroidism and TSH hyperresponsiveness, even when urinary cAMP responses are normal.

Differentiation of pseudo- and idiopathic hypoparathyroidism by measuring urinary calcitonin.

Calcitonin (CT) levels were determined in urine specimens from normal subjects and patients with pseudohypoparathyroidism type I (PHP), idiopathic hypoparathyroidism (IHP), pseudopseudohypoparathyroidism (PPHP), and surgical hypoparathyroidism (SHP). Urinary CT was measured by RIA after extraction of urine by gel chromatography on a 0.8 X 20-cm column of Bio-Gel P-2. The urinary CT level ranged from 420-1000 pg/mg creatinine (Cr; mean +/- SD, 631 +/- 229) in PHP (n = 6), from 50-270 (131 +/- 92) in IHP (n = 6), and from 35-93 (66 +/- 27) in SHP (n = 6), and was 185 pg/mg Cr in one patient with PPHP. The mean value in PHP was significantly (P less than 0.001) higher, and that in SHP was significantly (P less than 0.05) lower, than those in the age-matched normal subjects. In each patient with PHP and IHP before and after treatment with 1 alpha-hydroxycholecalciferol, urinary CT levels fluctuated between 700-1370 pg/mg Cr in PHP and from 43-195 pg/mg Cr in IHP. Increased urinary excretion of CT in patients with PHP suggests that CT secretion may be enhanced in this disease. The biological role of CT in PHP remains to be clarified.