hypoparathyroidism, inadequate secretion of parathormone. Hypoparathyroidism can be due to decreased secretion of parathormone or, less often, to decreased action of parathormone (pseudohypoparathyroidism). In either case, hypoparathyroidism results in decreased mobilization of calcium from bone, decreased reabsorption of calcium by kidney tubule cells, decreased absorption of calcium by the gastrointestinal tract, and increased reabsorption of phosphate by kidney tubule cells. This abnormal pattern of calcium and phosphate regulation results in low serum calcium concentrations (hypocalcemia) and high serum phosphate concentrations.
The symptoms of hypoparathyroidism are the result of low serum calcium concentrations. Most prominent is muscular cramping and twitching, exemplified most dramatically by carpopedal (wrist and foot) spasms. These include painful contractions of the muscles of the arms and hands (and feet) in which the four fingers are rigidly extended while the thumb presses against the palm. This neuromuscular excitability can progress to generalized convulsions. Other common symptoms are a sensation of numbness and tingling around the mouth and in the hands and feet. Patients with chronic hypocalcemia may develop cataracts and calcification in the basal ganglia of the brain, which in turn can cause symptoms of parkinsonism. Patients who have pseudohypoparathyroidism may have skeletal abnormalities, including a short neck and extremities and shortened metacarpal bones, and may have abnormal physical features, characterized primarily by a rounded face.
Hypoparathyroidism is a rare disorder. Indeed, the most common cause is inadvertent removal of the parathyroid glands during thyroid gland surgery. In some cases, hypoparathyroidism will occur spontaneously as the result of an autoimmune disorder. In these patients, hypoparathyroidism is often only one component of a multiple endocrine deficiency syndrome. Other causes of hypoparathyroidism are iron deposition in the parathyroid glands (in patients with iron storage disorders), magnesium deficiency (usually in alcoholic patients), congenital absence of the parathyroid glands, and a mutation in the calcium receptor of the parathyroid glands that increases the ability of calcium to inhibit parathormone secretion. Most patients with pseudohypoparathyroidism have a genetic defect in which the action of parathormone on its target cells in the bones and kidneys is defective.
Other causes of hypocalcemia include vitamin D deficiency, vitamin D resistance, severe inflammation of the pancreas (pancreatitis), and, most common of all, severe kidney failure. All these disorders result in secondary (compensatory) hyperparathyroidism.
Patients with symptomatic hypocalcemia can be treated with intravenous administration of calcium salts. Long-term treatment consists of oral administration of vitamin D or calcitriol and of calcium salts. Serum calcium must be measured periodically to be certain that treatment is effective and that neither hypocalcemia nor hypercalcemia is present.