Marta Figueiredo, PhD, science writer —

Marta holds a biology degree, a master’s in evolutionary and developmental biology, and a PhD in biomedical sciences from the University of Lisbon, Portugal. She was awarded a research scholarship and a PhD scholarship, and her research focused on the role of several signaling pathways in thymus and parathyroid glands embryonic development. She also previously worked as an assistant professor of an annual one-week embryology course at the University of Lisbon’s Faculty of Medicine.

Articles by Marta Figueiredo

Severe COVID-19 Suspected as Cause of Temporary Hypoparathyroidism

Severe COVID-19 could lead to the development of temporary hypoparathyroidism, a case report suggests. This report represents the third case of hypoparathyroidism secondary to severe COVID-19 infection noted in scientific literature. These rare instances, along with previous reports showing that the virus may worsen previously well-controlled hypoparathyroidism, highlight…

FDA Rejects Changes to Natpara Cartridge, Delaying Its Relaunch

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has rejected Takeda Pharmaceutical’s proposed changes to address the risk of rubber fragments detaching into Natpara’s cartridge that led to the therapy’s U.S. recall in 2019. This treatment for hypoparathyroidism involves puncturing the medication’s cartridge rubber septum — a disk…

APS1 Case Report Supports Early Immunosuppressive Treatment

Starting immunosuppressive treatment early in the disease course normalized some signs of autoimmunity, halted the development of additional autoimmune diseases, and reversed total body hair loss in a girl with autoimmune polyglandular syndrome type 1 (APS1), a case study shows. While immunosuppressive therapies have been generally reserved for life-threatening…

Calcium Deposits in Kidneys Common in Hypoparathyroidism

Calcium deposits — known as calcifications — in the kidneys and higher-than-normal levels of calcium in urine are common in people with chronic hypoparathyroidism, according to a small Danish study. Notably, the presence of these calcifications was neither significantly associated with the levels of calcium in the urine or…