Failure of cimetidine to affect calcium homeostasis in familial primary hyperparathyroidism (multiple endocrine neoplasia, type 1)

Recent reports that cimetidine, a blocker of histamine H2 receptors, lowered serum calcium and/or immunoreactive parathyroid hormone (PTH) concentrations in primary or secondary hyperparathyroidism prompted us to administer the drug (300 mg, orally, every 6 h) to two patients with hyperparathyroidism accompanying familial multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1. The patients were hypercalcemic (10.9--11.2 mg/dl), hypophosphatemic (2.0--2.4 mg/dl), and hypercalciuric (greater than or equal to 410 mg/24 h), with elevated urinary cAMP and phosphate clearance and inappropriately high serum immunoreactive PTH levels. Multiple observations of these variables over 5 weeks of cimetidine treatment showed no systematic changes; in particular, serum and urinary calcium did not change, and there was no evidence of a decreased PTH effect on the kidneys. The data offer no support for the treatment of familial hyperparathyroidism with cimetidine.