• Hypoparathyroidism

Hypoparathyroidism (HypoPT) is a rare endocrine disorder. Post-surgical HypoPT (PS-HypoPT) is the most common cause of it. Patients suffering from this condition experience several complications, among which symptoms at Central Nervous System (CNS) level.
The aim of this study is to evaluate the effects of PTH deprivation on the CNS in animal model of post-surgical hypoparathyroidism, which is achieved through the observation of cognitive / behavioral aspects and through the comparison of the responses between models with parathyroid hormone deprivation and those of the control group, dividing them by age (young adult animal vs adult animal).Behavioral evaluation has been achieved using specific tests: the Open Field Maze, the Object Recognition and the Elevated Plus Maze. The OF’s results showed that PTx animals displayed a statistically significant worse performance (lower time and distance) than the control group. Moreover, dividing the animals by age, it resulted that young adult PTx animals displayed the worst performance compared to all the other groups. Such a result has been observed for the indoors parameter of the EPM too.
This study highlights and confirms the importance of PTH in the CNS, suggesting that PTH may play a role in spatial learning and short-term memory. Further studies are needed to elucidate molecular mechanisms underlying PTH’s effects in the brain.