Endocrine Abstracts

Objective: The management of male idiopathic infertility is challenging. The Italian Medicines Agency (AIFA) note 74 regulates the empirical administration of follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), although its application in clinical practice remain conflicting. The aim was to explore the management of male idiopathic infertility and to assess the actual use of FSH.Methods: A multicenter longitudinal prospective observational study (open-registry), involvi...

The immune system has been recognized as one of the most important regulators of bone turnover and its de-regulation is implicated in several bone diseases as post-menopausal osteoporosis and inflammatory bone loss. The study of the relationship between immune system and bone metabolism is generally indicated under the term ‘osteoimmunology’, the vast majority of these studies have been performed in animal models, however several data have been confirmed also in huma...

Background: Growth hormone (GH) deficiency(GHD) in childhood is associated with impairment in linear growth. GH therapy enables the achievement of normal adult height in most cases. The response is variable and factors influencing height outcome are still not clearly defined.Objective: To evaluate near adult height (NAH) in a single center cohort of childhood onset GHD patients treated with GH and investigate main predictors of final height (FH).<p c...

Background: There is concern that adolescents with childhood-onset GHD (COGHD) and persistent GH deficiency may be exposed to multiple metabolic risks after GH treatment withdrawal at the attainment of final height (FH).Aim: Aim of our study is to retrospectively compare growth response and metabolic profile in isolated idiopathic COGHD adolescents with permanent GH deficiency in comparison to GHD subjects who normalized their GH response at transition p...

Background: The management of subclinical hypothyroidism (SH) is still challenging in particular for mild forms with TSH levels ranging between 4.5 and 10 mU/L. Although SH in children seems to be a bening condition, ongoing scientific investigations have highlighted the presence of subtle proatherogenic abnormalities among children with modest elevations in their TSH levels. Data on cardiac performance in children with SH are still scanty.Aim: To compar...

The role played by physical activity in promoting bone health is now widely recognized. Physical activity limits and slows down the physiological demineralization that occurs over the years and plays an important role in the prevention of osteoporosis. SuperJump, a high-impact training activity performed on a mini-trampoline characterized by alternating between aerobic and anaerobic exercises, has been shown to be able to generate a substantial osteogenic response and increase...

Background: Fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21) is a key metabolic regulator in the adaptation to fasting. In food-restricted mice, inhibition of skeletal growth appears to be mediated by the antagonistic effect of FGF21 on GH action in the liver and in the growth plate (Kubicky et al. 2012, Yu et al. 2012). The role of FGF21 in growth regulation in humans is currently unknown.Objective and hypothesis: To provide mechanistic insights in...

Patients with resistance to thyroid hormone β (RTHβ) often display a neurocognitive phenotype, but the underlying biological defects have not been characterized. The predominant receptor isoform expressed in brain tissue is TRα1 leading to the assumption that this receptor accounts for most of the T3 effects. Nevertheless, TRα and TRβ are both expressed in brain therefore our study aims to understand the impact of a mutant THRβ on TH action in the...

Background: P450 Oxidoreductase (POR) Deficiency(PORD) represents the most complex form of congenital adrenal hyperplasia. It usuallycauses genital ambiguity in both sexes, and eventually peculiar skeletal malformations resembling Antley-Bixler syndrome. Co-occurrence of POR deficiency and Argininosuccinatelyase Deficiency (ALD)in the samepatient born to non-consanguineous parents has never been reported.Case report: A male patient was born at term to no...

Low vitamin D levels were consistently reported as a risk factor for worse outcomes in hospitalized COVID-19 patients. Emerging evidences suggest that in 50–70% of COVID-19 survivors several post-COVID symptoms can be observed up to 3 months after acute-disease, representing a novel clinical condition defined Long-COVID syndrome. To date, the predisposing factors for this syndrome are still poorly understood. We retrospectively aimed at evaluating the influence of 25(OH) ...