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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Myrna Manners, Kathleen Robinson, Peggy Sung
Phone: (212) 821-0560
E-mail: pes2001@mail.med.cornell.edu
NON-SURGICAL TREATMENT FOR HYPERPARATHYROIDISM
Clinical Trial of a New Drug Treatment Begins at New York-Cornell
New York, NY (November 12, 1998) -- The New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center
is currently
studying a drug that may offer medical treatment instead of surgery for men
and women who suffer from
hyperparathyroidism. To conduct this important clinical trial, the Medical
Center is looking for volunteers
with hyperparathyroidism to participate in a 50-day
study.
Hyperparathyroidism occurs when one or more of the
parathyroid glands (pea-sized glands in the
neck which control the levels of calcium in the blood) produce an excess of
their hormone--the parathyroid
hormone. This raises the level of blood calcium above normal and weakens
the bones.
Hyperparathyroidism is not uncommon among middle-aged
people, and women are twice as likely
to suffer from it as men. The condition usually is caused by a benign
growth on one of the parathyroid
glands.
The only established treatment for hyperparathyroidism is
surgery. It is hoped that the clinical trial
of this new drug will lead to the development of a non-surgical option for
patients.
The new drug, which will be taken orally, once-a-day,
is still investigational (i.e., not approved by
the Food and Drug Administration). During the 50 days of the trial,
participants will have a total of four
days of stay in the New York Hospital-Cornell Clinical Research Center in
Manhattan. They will be very
carefully monitored. Study participants may receive the drug, or they may
receive a placebo (no
medication).
All accepted participants will receive $250 after
screening and $750 after completion of the study.
(Note: Parathyroid disease is totally unrelated to thyroid
problems.)
Participants will continue to be treated by their own
physician who will receive a full report at the
end of the trail. All volunteers must be over age 18, and female
volunteers must be postmenopausal for at least
one year.
For more details, call David A. Zackson, M.D.
Division of Endocrinology
The New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center
(212) 746-6290
© 1999 New York Presbyterian Hospital
Weill Medical College of Cornell University
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