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Half a year has gone by since disgraced pharma executive Martin Shkreli was sentenced to seven years in federal prison for securities and wire fraud while heading San Diego-based Retrophin. As founder and CEO of another company (then known as Turing Pharmaceuticals), in late 2015 Shkreli bought the rights…

Post-surgical hypoparathyroidism is a common temporary complication in patients who undergo thyroid removal surgery, occurring more frequently in patients with inflammation of the thyroid, known as thyroiditis, a study has found. However, permanent hypoparathyroidism, lasting more than six months after…

The injection of carbon nanoparticles during surgery to remove thyroid cancer and central lymph nodes is helpful to protect the parathyroid glands from damage and prevent temporary hypoparathyroidism, a recent study suggests. The study, “Short and Long-Term Potential Role of Carbon Nanoparticles in Total Thyroidectomy with Central…

More than 700 medical experts, pharmaceutical executives, patient advocates, and others are expected to converge on Washington, D.C., next month for the 2018 NORD Rare Diseases & Orphan Products Breakthrough Summit. The Oct. 15-16 event, sponsored by the National Organization for Rare Diseases (NORD), takes place at the…

Measuring the levels of parathyroid hormone and blood calcium levels 24 hours after a total thyroidectomy (the surgical removal of the entire thyroid gland) can predict which patients may develop permanent hypoparathyroidism, according to researchers from China. Their study, “Prediction of permanent hypoparathyroidism by parathyroid hormone and serum…

Iranian patients with Sanjad-Sakati syndrome (SSS) show specific gene mutations associated with hypoparathyroidism, severe growth failure, and facial structural alterations, according to a study. The study, “Clinical features and tubulin folding cofactor E gene analysis in Iranian patients with Sanjad—Sakati syndrome,” appeared in the…

Primary hypoparathyroidism may go undiagnosed until a secondary condition, such as dengue, worsens levels of blood calcium, a case report suggests. The report, “Dengue fever manifesting with tetany as the first presentation of primary hypoparathyroidism: a case report,” was published in the journal BMC Research Notes. Dengue…

A plasma gel scaffold, easily injected and capable of delivering cells that produce and release the parathyroid hormone (PTH), could be a potential new treatment for hypoparathyroidism patients, a study reports. The study, “Feasibility of autologous plasma gel for tonsil-derived stem cell therapeutics in hypoparathyroidism,” was conducted by Korean…

Patients with small papillary thyroid cancers should not undergo a total thyroidectomy, but should instead be under active surveillance to monitor the cancer, or remove only a portion of the thyroid. This could avoid the patient developing hypoparathyroidism, according to a new perspective article. The article, “Saving…

With the increasing use of parathyroid hormone therapy in patients with hypoparathyroidism, physicians need to closely monitor urinary citrate levels which, if too low, may result in calcium deposits and kidney stones, according to researchers. Their study, “Hypocitraturia is an Untoward Side Effect of Synthetic Human Parathyroid Hormone…