{"id":15,"date":"2018-01-30T20:50:52","date_gmt":"2018-01-31T01:50:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.saintjohnscancer.org\/endocrine\/conditions\/hyperparathyroidism\/"},"modified":"2026-05-21T13:22:59","modified_gmt":"2026-05-21T17:22:59","slug":"hyperparathyroidism","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.saintjohnscancer.org\/endocrine\/conditions\/hyperparathyroidism\/","title":{"rendered":"Hyperparathyroidism"},"content":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":null,"protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":7,"menu_order":5,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-15","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":{"layers":[{"acf_fc_layout":"layer_content_sidebar","layer_label":"","layer_headline":"","layer_intro":"","layer_content":"

About Parathyroid Disease and Hyperparathyroidism; Hypercalcemia<\/h2>\n

Hyperparathyroidism is a hormonal problem that can develop at any age, but occurs most commonly in postmenopausal women (2% of older women and 1% of older men). It develops because of excessive secretion of parathyroid hormone (PTH), an important factor in calcium metabolism. It can lead to high PTH levels and calcium levels in the blood, and a wide range of symptoms.
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There are two pairs of parathyroid glands located along the thyroid gland lobes in the neck<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/p>\n

What is the Parathyroid Gland and its function?<\/h2>\n

Most people are born with four parathyroid glands located behind the thyroid at the lowwer part of the neck. These glands produce PTH in the bloodstream which controls calcium levels, raising levels when they are too low. It’s impact can affect bones, intestine, and the kidneys. A normal parathyroid range is between 9.0 and 10.1. If the level of parathyroid hormone is too high, the result is hyperparathyroidism.<\/p>\n

Primary Hyperparathyroidism<\/h3>\n

When an abnormal parathyroid gland \u2018goes rogue\u2019 and stops responding to normal signals from the body, it tells the body unnecessarily that it needs more calcium. Calcium is then leached from the bones (a cause of osteoporosis<\/a>) and intestines to compensate, and can be deposited in the kidneys, which leads to kidney stones. A build-up of too much calcium in the bloodstream can be either asymptomatic or can lead to a variety of problems.<\/p>\n

Some patients with a parathyroid tumor have normocalcemic hyperparathyroidism where the calcium level is normal but the PTH is high. Other patients may have high calcium but high-normal or normal PTH levels. Assuming that there are no other causes of high calcium or high PTH, these patients should have their primary hyperparathyroidism treated. The cause of overactive parathyroids in 1% of patients is inheritance of a gene abnormality from one parent. The cause of a parathyroid tumor in the other 99% of patients is usually unknown, although radiation therapy to the face or neck can be a factor in causing a single parathyroid tumor.<\/p>\n

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