Subnormal secretion of parathyroid hormone prevents age-related bone loss

Parathyroid hormone (PTH) is a key factor involved in the systemic regulation of bone resorption. It is well known that a high turnover of bone occurred together with the reduced bone mass in patients with hyperparathyroidism. However, the effect of subnormal secretion of PTH on age-related bone loss has not been extensively investigated. Recently, some investigators and us have focused on the effect of suppressed PTH secretion and have demonstrated that patients with subnormal secretion of PTH preserved a relatively higher bone mineral densities than age- and sex-matched controls. We believe that these results will give a new insight into the mechanism of age-related bone loss or osteoporosis. Further studies are needed to evaluate the mechanisms of this protective effect of suppressed PTH secretion on bone mass.