We wish you all a hopeful and healthy New Year. With a major national review of endocrinology management out recently and new guidelines on hypo- and hyperparathyroidism soon to be published as well as a patient/clinician collaboration on what the future of endocrinology might look like AND a home tester trial in the offing 2022 is definitely looking brighter for parathyroid patients.
We will be working with other patient groups and the European Society of Endocrinology to further understanding of hypoparathyroidism. We bring you the words of Andrea Giustina, former President of the ESE, who sums up all our hopes for the future when he tweets:
“A wish for 2022 is that parathyroids are ALWAYS preserved during thyroid surgery to avoid serious systemic complications due to persistent hypoparathyroidism which is still incredibly thought to be easy to manage with low clinical impact! It is a pleasure and honour to be at your side close to persons with hypoparathyroidism advocating at every level for necessary prevention and optimal management of this severe and invalidating disease. ”
After so many years of raising awareness about hypopara it means so much to have our plight publicly acknowledged by those few specialists who have truly understood it’s impact.
We will continue to campaign for better diagnosis and treatment for primary hyperparathyroidism and working, in particular, with GPs to raise awareness. Last month, findings from a huge study on 75 year olds indicated that parathyroidectomy is associated with lower fracture risk among older adults with PHPT and should be considered for this age group. Guidelines were published this year in Germany and a new consensus statement from Australia has just stated that
Parathyroidectomy is the only definitive treatment and is warranted for all symptomatic patients and should be considered for asymptomatic patients without contraindications to surgery
We hope studies like this will help to finally debunk the long held practice of ‘watch and wait’, replace outdated guidelines.
Our greatest wish for all of us, whether for those living with hypopara for the rest of their lives or those who have been living with undiagnosed hyperpara for many years, is for endocrinologists to take heed, to learn about our conditions, acknowledge our symptoms and work with us to help us gain some quality of life.
Meanwhile we will continue to support your in our groups, send all our love to those who have been affected by Covid and wish you all a safe and healthy 2022.
Happy New Year!