BONE MINERAL CONTENT IN PATIENTS WITH PRIMARY HYPERPARATHYROIDISM WITHOUT RADIOLOGICAL EVIDENCE OF SKELETAL CHANGES

Abstract

Bone mineral content was determined by X-ray spectrophotometry at 7 sites in 10 patients suffering from primary hyperparathyroidism without any radiological evidence of skeletal alterations. Bone mineral assays were performed before parathyroidectomy and one year after the operation in order to ascertain whether the bone mineral level is abnormal in this disease, and also whether it increases after parathyroidectomy. In comparison with a control-group of 170 subjects the pre-operative level of bone mineral content was low for the distal radius and ulna and the calcaneus, as was the amount of bone mineral per unit volume of cortical bone in the femoral shaft. After parathyroidectomy, the mean bone mineral content for the series increased significantly in the distal radius and ulna, in the femoral neck and the calcaneus.