PARATHYROID-GLAND FUNCTION IN THE HEMODIALYSIS PATIENT

The focus of this review is to provide a perspective on the applicatio ns and advantages of dynamic testing of parathyroid gland function in the dialysis patient. This review will: 1) consider the clinical utili ty of dynamic testing of the parathyroid gland and how the application of the information obtained with this testing can provide a better un derstanding of the physiology of parathyroid gland secretion in uremia ; and 2) attempt to reconcile some of the different methodologies whic h have been used to evaluate the set point of calcium and the slope of the PTH-calcium curve. It will offer our interpretation of the meanin g of the set point of calcium, a term which, in our opinion, has gener ated considerable confusion with respect to dynamic testing of the par athyroid gland.