ALBRIGHT'S SYNDROME

also called Pseudohypoparathyroidism, hereditary disease characterized by abnormal bony growths; pigmented skin spots; mental retardation; endocrine disturbances, including precocious puberty in girls; and abnormal calcium metabolism. Calcium is deposited in the skin, the brain, and the lens of the eye and in inappropriate bony sites. Although the symptoms resemble those of hypoparathyroidism (hence the alternative name), parathyroid function is normal; instead, the response to parathyroid hormone is defective. Fractures secondary to bony weakness and bowing of the long bones are common. The syndrome is inherited as a sex-linked dominant trait, occurring twice as frequently in females as in males. The disease is named for the American physician Fuller Albright, who first described it.