Disappearance of a Serum Paraprotein After Parathyroidectomy

Abstract

Increases in serum γ-globulin above normal levels are common. They occur in a large variety of conditions¹and are divided on the basis of paper electrophoresis into "narrow band" and "diffuse" types.²Narrow band aggregates of protein, traveling in the γ-zone, are known as "Myeloma" or "M" type proteins. They are most frequently seen in association with multiple myeloma³although they have been reported in a number of other conditions⁴and in one apparently normal blood donor.⁵ Once abnormal protein bands have developed, they almost invariably persist. Osserman,⁶describing 24 patients with narrow band γ-globulin elevation, states that in no instance did the abnormal protein diminish in concentration or disappear. Waldenstrom,³in an extensive review of patients with hypergammaglobulinemia of the narrow band type, found no instance of reversion to normality. This paper describes a patient with proven hyperthyroidism whose serum proteins on