Criteria

Types of pseudohypoparathyroidism (PHP) based on clinical features, parathyroid hormone (PTH) responsiveness, and genotype[2][3][4]

Type Ia:

  • Caused by mutations in GNAS, the gene that codes for the guanine nucleotide-binding protein (G-protein) Gs-alpha

  • Associated Albright hereditary osteodystrophy

  • Decreased response to exogenous PTH as measured by urine cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) and urine phosphorus

  • Serum calcium is low

  • Hormone resistance is generalized (affecting any hormone that relies on Gs-alpha signaling)

  • Autosomal dominant inheritance; linked to maternal allele.

Type Ib:

  • Caused by mutations in GNAS

  • No associated skeletal phenotype

  • Decreased response to exogenous PTH as measured by urine cAMP and urine phosphorus

  • Serum calcium is low

  • Hormone resistance is limited to PTH target tissue; however, there are an increasing number of cases associated with thyroid-stimulating hormone resistance

  • Inheritance is sporadic.

Type Ic:

  • Normal Gs-alpha activity together with the absence of GNAS mutations are the hallmarks of type Ic.[6] However, two nonsense and two missense mutations in the GNAS carboxy terminus have been detected in a few type Ic patients[6][7][8]

  • Associated Albright hereditary osteodystrophy

  • Decreased response to exogenous PTH as measured by urine cAMP and urine phosphorus

  • Serum calcium is low

  • Hormone resistance is generalized (affecting any hormone that relies on Gs-alpha signaling)

  • Inheritance similar to type Ia (i.e., autosomal dominant, linked to maternal allele).

Type II:

  • Underlying genetic mutation is unknown

  • No associated skeletal phenotype

  • Complex response to exogenous PTH; urine phosphorus response is decreased but urine cAMP response is normal

  • Serum calcium is low

  • Hormone resistance is limited to PTH target tissue

  • Inheritance is unknown.

Pseudopseudohypoparathyroidism:

  • Caused by mutations in GNAS

  • Associated Albright hereditary osteodystrophy

  • Normal response to exogenous PTH as measured by urine cAMP and urine phosphorus

  • Serum calcium is normal

  • There is no hormone resistance

  • Autosomal dominant inheritance, linked to paternal allele.

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