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Definition
By Mayo Clinic staff
Hyperparathyroidism is an excess of calcium in the bloodstream due to overactivity of one or more of the body's four parathyroid glands. These oval, grain-of-rice-sized glands are located in your neck.
The parathyroid glands produce parathyroid hormone, which helps maintain an appropriate balance of calcium in the bloodstream and in tissues that depend on calcium for proper functioning. In hyperparathyroidism, an overproduction of the hormone results in high levels of calcium in the blood (hypercalcemia), which can cause a variety of health problems.
Hyperparathyroidism may occur because of a problem with the parathyroid glands or because of another disease that affects gland function. Although surgery is the most common treatment for hyperparathyroidism, some medications also may be used.
- Rodgers SE, et al. Primary hyperparathyroidism. Current Opinion in Oncology 2008;20:52.
- The American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists and the American Association of Endocrine Surgeons position statement on the diagnosis and management of primary hyperparathyroidism. Endocrine Practice. 2005;11:49.
- Hyperparathyroidism. National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. http://www.endocrine.niddk.nih.gov/pubs/hyper/hyper.htm. Accessed March 23, 2009.
- El-Hajj Fuleihan G. Clinical manifestations of primary hyperparathyroidism. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed March 23, 2009.
- Taniegra ED. Hyperparathyroidism. American Family Physician. 2004;69:333.
- Bringhurst FR. Hormones and disorders of mineral metabolism. In: Kronenberg, HM, et al., eds. Williams Textbook of Endocrinology. 11th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders Elsevier; 2008. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/127508547-4/0/1555/168.html#4-u1.0-B978-1-4160-2911-3..50029-7--p1224. Accessed March 23, 2009.
- Dietary supplement fact sheet: Vitamin D. National Institutes of Health Office of Dietary Supplements. http://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/VitaminD_pf.asp. Accessed March 24, 2009.
- Dietary supplement fact sheet: Calcium. National Institutes of Health Office of Dietary Supplements. http://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Calcium_pf.asp. Accessed March 24, 2009.
- Phosphorus. Foods Standards Agency (UK). Accessed March 25, 2009.
- Wuthrich RP, et al. The role of calcimimetics in the treatment of hyperparathyroidism. European Journal of Clinical Investigation. 2007;37:915.
- Silverberg SJ, et al. Management of asymptomatic primary hyperparathyroidism. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed March 23, 2009.
