Calcium Metabolism in Idiopathic Hypercalcaemia of Infancy with Failure to Thrive

Abstract

As pointed out by a leader in the Lancet (1953), marasmus or 'teething ' no longer satisfies paedia-tricians as a diagnosis for an infant's failure to thrive. The clinical studies of Lightwood and the biochemical work of Payne have recently shown that failure to thrive with constipation, hypotonia, polyuria, loss of appetite with occasional vomiting and intermittent urinary infection may be associated with at least two biochemical patterns, the first being that of renal acidosis (Lightwood, Payne and Black, 1953) and the second that of hypercalcaemia (Lightwood, 1952). Although the biochemical find-ings have now enabled these disease patterns to be identified from the ruck ofmarasmus and have led to hopeful therapeutic attempts to correct the bio-chemical abnormalities, the aetiology of both con-ditions remains in doubt. The hypercalcaemic syndrome has apparently two forms, a commoner and milder form (Lightwood,