Yeditepe Team Identifies New Parathyroid Hormone-Secreting Cell Type in the Thyroid

A research team at Yeditepe University Hospitals announced that it has identified a new cell type inside the thyroid gland in the neck that secretes parathyroid hormone. The study was carried out by a team that includes Endocrine Surgery Specialist Prof. Dr. Erhan Ayşan.

The team also includes Prof. Dr. Gamze Köse, Prof. Dr. Fikrettin Şahin, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Özge Acar, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ezgi Hacıhasanoğlu and Dr. Alperen Tuncer. Parathyroid hormone regulates calcium balance in the body and is normally secreted by the small parathyroid glands behind the thyroid.

According to Prof. Dr. Ayşan, the cell's function has been demonstrated and imaged. The cell has not yet been given a name.

This is a new cell.

Prof. Dr. Erhan Ayşan

Possible implications for surgery and disease

Ayşan says the finding could contribute to a reassessment of current approaches to thyroid surgery. New knowledge about thyroid tissue's functions may open the way to different decisions on how much tissue should be removed in some operations.

The discovery also offers a possible explanation for why parathyroid hormone levels do not drop fully to zero in some patients even after all parathyroid glands are removed. The researchers think these cells in thyroid tissue may play a role. Still, the findings must be confirmed by broader studies before they can change surgical practice.

The team also believes the cell could contribute to research on some thyroid diseases whose causes are not fully known. Graves' disease, Hashimoto's and some thyroid cancers are among them. Ayşan says they have begun new studies in these areas.

This discovery will open new doors in both diagnosis and treatment.

Prof. Dr. Erhan Ayşan

Clinical use will take time

As Ayşan stresses, it will take time for the findings to be published scientifically, gain international acceptance and enter clinical practice. For now, there is no change to current treatments for thyroid patients.