Hypercalcemia and autoimmune diseases
Hypercalcemia is a very common water-electrolyte imbalance found in daily clinical practice. It is defined as the presence of a serum calcium concentration greater than 2 standard deviations from the mean laboratory value, which is usually 10.6 mg/dL [1].
From the pathophysiological point of view, high levels of calcium in the blood increase the difference in electrical potential between cell membranes, which increases the depolarization threshold. Clinically, hypercalcemia may present a very wide spectrum that can range from a certain muscle weakness to depression and even coma and death, and this depends on several factors such as the severity of hypercalcemia, the speed of its onset and other circumstances specific to the patient, such as age, comorbidity and medication received [1]. Therefore, it is not surprising that two patients with the same high serum calcium values present completely different symptoms.