Margarida Maia, PhD, science writer —

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is delaying by three months its decision to approve Ascendis Pharma’s TransCon PTH (palopegteriparatide) as a hormone replacement therapy for adults with hypoparathyroidism. The FDA decided not to approve the investigational therapy in April 2023 over concerns about its manufacturing…

TransCon PTH treatment continues to show benefits for up to a year in people with hypoparathyroidism, helping them achieve normal blood calcium levels and reducing the need for conventional therapy. That’s according to new data from PATHway (NCT04701203), a Phase 3 clinical trial wherein Ascendis Pharma…

About one in five people with Graves’ disease who undergo a thyroidectomy, which is the surgical removal of all or part of the thyroid gland, develop hypoparathyroidism, but most recover in less than six months. That’s according to a study looking back at the medical records of 216 people…

People who go on to develop hypoparathyroidism after surgery in the neck feel more tired and have less energy than control patients who do not develop the disease, a study from the U.K. has found. However, fatigue and low energy do not appear to reduce overall quality of life,…

People with hypoparathyroidism who are on replacement therapy with Natpara, a version of the parathyroid hormone (PTH), are about half as likely to develop chronic kidney disease than patients who don’t receive the therapy, a study found. The study, “The risk of chronic kidney disease development in…

Patients with long-lasting hypoparathyroidism in Sweden are over three times more likely than healthy individuals to develop kidney complications such as chronic kidney disease and kidney stones, and this may translate into more frequent hospital admissions, a study found. The study, “Kidney Complications and Hospitalization in Patients with…

Replacement therapy with either Forteo or Natpara, two versions of the parathyroid hormone (PTH), appears to be safe and effective in controlling calcium and phosphorus pools in the body, and this translates to better quality of life for patients with hypoparathyroidism, a meta-analysis study has found. The study, “…

Late recovery — longer than six months — from post-surgery hypoparathyroidism is not uncommon, and having levels of parathyroid hormone (PTH) within the normal range may indicate whether patients are more likely to recover, a study found. “PTH is a useful biomarker in predicting long-term recovery of parathyroid function,”…

Slower processing speed, or longer times to take in and use information, appear to be connected to lower blood calcium and higher blood phosphate levels in people with hypoparathyroidism, a small pilot study in the U.S. suggests. Because slower processing speeds can mean more time to complete day-to-day tasks,…

A woman in China developed rare changes in her heartbeat, which were associated with low blood calcium caused by hypoparathyroidism, according to a case report. Using an electrocardiogram (ECG) — a line graph that shows how the electrical activity of the heart changes over time — scientists were able…