Severe Infantile Hypercalcemia Associated With Williams Syndrome Successfully Treated With Intravenously Administered Pamidronate

Abstract

Infantile hypercalcemia occurs in approximately 15% of children with Williams syndrome (WS) and is typically not clinically severe. We report on 3 children with WS (confirmed with fluorescent in situ hybridization probes) who presented with severe symptomatic hypercalcemia. The first patient's severe hypercalcemia resolved with traditional therapies, whereas the subsequent 2 patients were treated with intravenously administered pamidronate after traditional measures proved only partially successful. Besides asymptomatic mild hypocalcemia, there were no complications resulting from pamidronate administration. We conclude that WS-associated hypercalcemia can be quite severe and symptomatic and that it can be successfully and safely treated with intravenously administered bisphosphonate in some cases.