On the Stimulation of New Bone-Formation With Parathyroid Extract and Irradiated Ergosterol

We have indicated in a previous paper (1) that parathyroid hormone overdosage does not always lead to bone-resorption, but may sometimes produce bone apposition. We were able to show that rats receiving parathyroid hormone in daily injections over long periods have markedly denser bones than their untreated litter mates. The pathological picture of these bones is very suggestive of marble-bone disease, as described by Albers-Schoenberg. The apposition of new bone tissue is in fact most active in the metaphysis of the long bones just as in marble-bone disease, the shaft being practically normal. Therefore we suggested that marble-bone disease may be due to a special form of hyperparathyroidism. This theory seems to be supported also by a recent publication of Pehu, Policard and Dufourt (2). These authors describe a case of typical marble-bone disease combined with an enlargement of the parathyroids. The bone-marrow of this case showed fibrous transformation in some places, which also indicates a condition of hyperparathyroidism.