A study of urinary excretion of parathyroid hormone in man.

A procedure for bioassaying parathyroid hormone-like activity in human urine has been developed. 24-hr urine samples were concentrated with dry Sephadex G-25 and bioassayed in the young thyroparathyrocauterized mouse by the measurement of whole blood calcium. Recovery of biological activity and radioiodinated beef parathyroid hormone was over 80%. Normal subjects usually excreted less than 30 U (USP) of activity per day while 18 patients with proven primary hyperparathyroidism excreted a mean of 182 U/day (USP). The activity was not found in 7 patients with hypoparathyroidism or in 5 patients with carcinoma of the breast, but was present in 9 patients with uremia and in 5 with carcinoma of the lung and hypercalcemia.