Shaul G. Massry Division of Nephrology, The University of Southern California, School of Medicine Los Angeles, California In the last two decades evidence has accumulated indicating that parathyroid hormone may exert a multitude of effects on many cells and a variety of organs beyond its classical targets: the kidney and the bone. These efforts have been spearheaded by nephrologists. The interest of this group of clinicians-scientists stems from the fact that patients with renal failure have secondary hyperparathyroidism and markedly elevated blood levels of PTH (1,2). If this hormone does act on various organs, it becomes plausible that excess blood levels of PTH may be harmful in these patients. Indeed, in an Editorial published in 1977, Massry suggested that the elevated blood levels of PTH in patients with renal failure may exert deleterious effects on many systems and as such may participate in the genesis of many of the manifestations of the uremic syndrome (3). Thus, the essence of the Massry hypothesis is the notion that PTH may act as a major uremic toxin. The search for uremic toxins did not yield successful results. In the last three decades many compounds have been implicated as uremic toxins. However, a cause and effect relationship between these compounds and the manifestations of the uremic syndrome has not been established in most cases.

Springer Book Archives

First International Conference on New Actions of Parathyroid Hormone.- I. Parathyroid Hormone Secretion, Metabolism and Mode of Action.- Chemistry, Molecular Biology and Mode of Action of Parathyroid Hormone.- Synthetic Signal Peptides of Parathyroid Hormone: Probes for Components of the Secretory Apparatus.- Effects of WR-2721 on Parathyroid Hormone Secretion and Bone.- New Approaches to Detection and Characterization of PTH Receptors.- Pulse Amplitude and Frequence Modulation of PTH and Its Modulation of PTH Receptors - Osteoporosis and an Example of a Dynamic Disease.- New Directions for the Design of Parathyroid Hormone Antagonists.- Inositol Lipids in Cell Signaling by Parathyroid Hormone.- Parathyroid Hormone and Phosphatidylinositol Metabolism in Fetal Rat Limb Bones.- Parathyroid Hormone-Action and Degradation.- Parathyroid Hormone-Related Protein of Cancer: A Novel Gene Product with a PTH Prototope.- PTH-Like Tumor Hypercalcemia Factor.- II. The Vascular Action of Parathyroid Hormone.- Parathyroid Hormone Receptors in Cultured Rat Vascular Smooth Muscle and Bovine Endothelial Cells.- 1, 25-Dihydroxyvitamin D Receptor and its Biological Role in Vascular Smooth Muscle Cell Functions.- Role of Calcium Uptake and Cyclic AMP in the Vascular Effects of PTH.- Coronary Vasodilatory Cardiotonic Effects of Parathyroid Hormone in the Dog.- Recent Advances in the Study of the Vascular Action of Parathyroid Hormone.- Role of Parathyroid Hormone (PTH) in the Blood Pressure Regulation.- Calcium and Calcium Regulating Hormones in Human Hypertension.- Ventricular Arrhythmias in Hemodialysis Patients: A Study of Incidence and Contributory Factors.- III. Parathyroid Hormone and Muscle.- Parathyroid Hormone in Muscular Dystrophy.- Histologic Studies in Muscle of Hyperparathyroidism.- Parathyroid Hormone and Gastrointestinal Smooth Muscle.- Effect of Infection on Cardiac and Skeletal Muscle Calcium Content in the Rat Endocarditis Model.- IV. Metabolic Effects of Parathyroid Hormone.- Parathyroid Hormone and Lipid Metabolism.- Is PTH Associated with Lipid Metabolism?.- Studies on the Pathogenesis of Hypertriglyceridemia in Chronic Renal Failure: The Significance of Intravenous Fat Tolerance Test (IVFTT) Before and After Subtotal Parathyroidectomy (PTX).- Carbohydrate Intolerance and Impaired Pancreatic Insulin Release in Chronic Renal Failure: Role of Excess Blood Levels of Parathyroid Hormone.- PTH and Acid-Base Regulation.- The Effect of Parathyroid Hormone on Water Metabolism.- Mechanism of Effect of PTH on (Ca2++Mg2+)-ATPase Activity of Renal Basolateral Membranes.- Enhancement of the Stimulatory Effect of Ca++ on Aldosterone Secretion by PTH.- Role of Hyperparathyroidism in Hormonal Disorders of Patients with Chronic Renal Insufficiency.- Role of PTH in the Progression of Chronic Renal Failure.- Human Parathyroid Hormone Inhibits Renal 24, 25-Dihydroxyvitamin D3 Synthesis by a Mechanism Involving Adenosine 3', 5'- Monophosphate in Rats.- V. Parathyroid Hormone and the Nervous System.- Derangements in Brain Synaptosomes Function in Chronic Renal Failure: Role of Parathyroid Hormone.- PTH Increases Ca++ Transport in Rat Brain Synaptosomes in Uremia.- Relation of Serum Parathyroid Hormone to Cognitive Function in Elderly Females.- Parathyroid Hormone and Pain.- VI. Aging and Parathyroid Hormone.- Aging and Parathyroid Hormone.- Parathyroid Hormone in Aging Rat.- VII. Clinical Topics.- The Neuromuscular Manifestations of Primary Hyperparathyroidism in Humans.- Hypoparathyroidism: A Clinical Review.- Inhibition of Parathyroid Hormone Bioactivity in Pseudo hypoparathyroidism Type I and by Human PTH (3-84) Produced in E. Coli.- VIII. Miscellaneous.- Polymorphonuclear Leucocytes are a Target for Parathyroid Hormone: An Effect on their Random Migration.- Pathogenesis of Secondary Hyperparathyroidism in Renal Failure.- Signal Pathways for PTH Degradation in the Clonal Osteogenic UMR106 Cell.- Parathyroid Hormone-Responsive Clonal Cell Lines from Mouse Growth Cartilage.- Parathyroid Hormone Stimulates Colony Formation of Chick Embryo Chondrocytes in Soft Agar.- Effect of Parathyroid Hormone on Ornithine Decarboxylase Activity in Human Osteogenic Sarcoma Cells.- Enhanced Mineralization was Observed by Microcarriers in Clonal Osteoblastic Cell Line.- PTH Control of Osteoblastic Function.- Development of Simple and Sensitive System for Detection of Bone Seeking Substances Employing Chick Embryo Tibiae.- Bone Mineral Density in Chronic Renal Failure.- Combination-Therapy with 1-38 hPTH and Calcitonin Increases Vertebral Density in Osteoporotic Patients.