Norman Parathyroid Center Publishes World's Largest Study on Primary Hyperparathyroidism

Online, July 13, 2011 (Newswire.com) - Surgeons at the Norman Parathyroid Center have published the largest series of patients with primary hyperparathyroidism, reported this week in the journal Endocrine Practice. The study includes 10,000 consecutive patients who were operated on during a 7-year period ending in 2009 at their center in Tampa, Florida. Primary hyperparathyroidism is an endocrine disorder caused by the development of a small neck tumor that induces high blood calcium, fatigue, depression, osteoporosis, kidney stones, heart disease, and other health problems.

The significance of this manuscript is that normograms have been developed which allow primary care physicians and endocrinologists to compare the blood calcium, parathyroid hormone, and vitamin D levels of their patients with suspected primary hyperparathyroidism to normograms and statistical measures of 10,000 patients who had a parathyroid tumor removed at surgery. By comparison, treating doctors can diagnose this disease in a more efficient manner using far fewer laboratory tests and diagnostic scans.

"Because of the high numbers of patients necessary, there are no other institutions that can develop these types of graphs and tools for other doctors to use" stated lead author, Dr. James "Jim" Norman. "We see approximately ten percent of all patients undergoing surgery for primary hyperparathyroidism in the US every year-more than 10-fold more than any other center. This allows us to make observations and discoveries that are unique."

"Our primary goal was to develop data and easy to use graphs that help doctors make the correct diagnosis of primary hyperparathyroidism in their patients with high calcium" stated co-author Dr. Douglas "Doug" Politz. "Many people with primary hyperparathyroidism have their diagnosis delayed for years because their doctor hasn't seen many cases of this disease, or hasn't seen patients presenting in certain uncommon ways. Since we see over 50 new cases of this disease per week, we observe even the uncommon presentations quite frequently."

The article is published in this month's issue of Endocrine Practice, the official journal for the American College of Endocrinology and the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists. The journal citation is: Norman J, Goodman A, Politz D; Calcium, parathyroid hormone, and vitamin D in patients with primary hyperparathyroidism: Normograms developed from 10,000 cases. Endocrine Practice 2011;17:384-394. Medline link.

The Norman Parathyroid Center is the world's leading facility for the diagnosis and treatment of diseases of the parathyroid glands and hyperparathyroidism. Thousands of patients from around the globe are treated annually at the Center which is located at Tampa General Hospital, recognized as a "Top Hospital" for its expertise in endocrinology and head/neck surgery among other disciplines. For more information please visit www.parathyroid.com.