Endocrine Abstracts

Study for morphological and hormonal changes in the parathyroid glands in 35 patients with primary hyperparathyroidism was carried out. Post-mortem material (five bodies) used to control. All patients had primary hyperparathyroidism and elevated levels of parathyroid hormone and ionized calcium in serum. Morphometric study evaluated the cellular structure (chief and oxyphil cells) and calculated the ratio of the basic elements of parathyroid cells (nucleus, cytoplasm) and stroma (collagen fibres, blood vessels). The correlation between hormonal and morphological parameters calculated using the methods of variation statistics. Levels of PTH had significant variation range from 96 to 2665 pg/ml (X=734, 6 pg/ml), as well as the volume of parathyroid adenomas – from 0.3 up to 31.5 cm 3 (X=5.1 cm³). A direct relationship is between the level of PTH and a relative density of nuclear component parenchyma (r=0.56; P=0.009). A feedback is between PTH and a relative density of parathyroid cells cytoplasm (r=−0.56; P=0.012). There is no correlation between the level of PTH and the average number of cellular elements in the field of view (r=0.27; P=0.26). In parathyroid adenomas smaller than 1 cm³ of correlation between levels of PTH and the increase in the size of the tumour is not (r=0.25; P=0.47). In parathyroid adenomas larger than 1 cm³ PTH level increases with tumour volume (r=0.55; P=0.01). There is no direct correlation between level of PTH and specific morphological changes in the parathyroid glands. Secretion of parathyroid hormone depends on the intracellular and the structural changes in parathyroid adenomas. Significantly changes are correlate with the size of the tumour.