Skeletal responsiveness in pseudohypoparathyroidism. A spectrum of clinical disease.

Three cases of pseudohypoparathyroidism with roentgenographic evidence of hyperparathyroid bone disease are described. Renal resistance to exogenous parathyroid hormone (PTH), the hallmark of pseudohypoparathyroidism, was documented by markedly blunted or absent urinary phosphate and cyclic AMP responses to parathyroid extract. At the time of diagnosis all patients were hypocalcemic and hyperphosphatemic with elevated serum alkaline phosphatase levels and subperiosteal resorption noted on skeletal films. Bone biopsy in one patient revealed a histologic appearance consistent with hyperparathyroidism. Serum PTH levels, measured in two patients while they were hypocalcemic, were elevated. None of the patients had short stature, brachydactyly, subcutaneous calcification or mental deficiency. These cases are compared to the 15 well-documented cases previously reported. The presently available information on pseudohypoparathyroidism indicates a variable skeletal response to PTH mediated by several factors extrinsic to bone and suggests that pseudohypoparathyroidism with hyperparathyroid bone disease is one extreme of a clinical spectrum of skeletal responsiveness to PTH. This disorder is part of an expanding clinical picture which makes pseudohypoparathyroidism a diagnostic consideration in any patient with unexplained hypocalcemia, hyperphosphatemia, elevated alkaline phosphatase levels or metabolic bone disease.