Endocrine Abstracts

Endometriosis is a hormone-dependent disorder, characterised by growth of endometrial tissue outside the uterus. It has been reported that 30–40% of women with infertility have endometriosis. Transformation of human endometrial stromal fibroblasts (hESC) (termed decidualisation) is accompanied by increased steroid synthesis and is fundamental to the establishment of a receptive endometrial microenvironment, which can support and maintain pregnancy. Evidence suggests that ...

Introduction: Digital epidemiology uses digital data which was not generated with the primary goal of serving epidemiological research (Life Sci Soc Pol 2018; 14:1). Recently, time and geographical correlation was noted between Google Trends findings and the prevalence of coronary artery disease (JACC, 2018, 71:98). Furthermore, using Google Trends, we have noted that the search terms ‘fatigue/weakness’ were correlated with the terms ‘hypothyroidism/thyroiditis&...

Introduction: Adrenocortical carcinomas (ACCs) are rare; incidence is approximately 1–2 per million population per year. These arefrequently aggressive tumours that may or may not be functional. The primary potentially curative treatment for ACC is surgery with currently mixed opinion among experts regardingadjuvant Mitotane treatment.The Case: 60 years old female was seen in clinic for work up of incidental adrenal mass. ...

Introduction: Adrenocortical carcinomas (ACCs) are rare; incidence is approximately 1–2 per million population per year. These arefrequently aggressive tumours that may or may not be functional. The primary potentially curative treatment for ACC is surgery with currently mixed opinion among experts regardingadjuvant Mitotane treatment.The Case: 60 years old female was seen in clinic for work up of incidental adrenal mass. ...

Introduction: In the last few years new imunomodulatory drugs are used for the treatment of metastatic melanoma. One of these drugs is ipilimumab, a monoclonal antibody that activates the immune system by targeting CTLA-4 protein receptor. This monoclonal antibody is very effective but there is a higher risk of endocrinopathies like an adverse effect of treatment, mostly hypophysitis and hypothyroidism.Case: We present a 68-year-old patient with metastat...

Aim: To present an unusual case of hypophysitis caused by TNF-α inhibitors and demonstrate the importance of astuteness with regards to endocrine axes testing when clinical circumstances indicate.Case: A 78-year-old gentleman with known fistulating Crohn’s disease (treated with adalimumab and infliximab in the past) presented with vomiting, dizziness, hyponatraemia and hypotension in early December 2018. SST showed he was cortisol-deficient, i...

Aim: To compare the efficacy, tolerability and safety of high doses of i.m. vitamin D2 (ergocalciferol) with oral vitamin D3 (colecalciferol) supplementation in women with low vitamin-D levels.Design and settings: Of 107 patients (s25(OH)D≤50 nmol/l), aged 21–89 years were recruited in a retrospective audit. Participants were separated in two groups according to serum vitamin D levels. The Group 1 included individuals wit...

Erectile dysfunction is a common complaint of men with hypogonadism. We present the case-history of a 42-year-old man who complained of erectile dysfunction for four years. Previous paternity was mentioned in his past medical history. On clinical examination his appearance was eunuchoid with frontal balding, reduced chest hair and lipomastia. Bilateral ptosis was also noticed and after being questioned the patient admitted that he had surgically repaired eyelid ptosis one year...

Introduction: Metastases to the thyroid are rare (1.4–3% of malignant solid tumors). When present, metastatic cancers mimic the ultrasound image of the thyroid parenchyma, hindering diagnosis. Breast cancer rarely metastasizes to the thyroid.Case: A 61-year-old woman was referred for goiterin the context of post-surgery evaluation for breast cancer. Thyrotropin (1.14 mIU/l), calcitonin (0.5 pg/ml) and parathyroidhormone (54 pg/ml) levels were norma...

Introduction: Recently Roche Diagnostics (Rotkreuz, Switzerland) introduced the third generation of its Elecsys free thyroxine (FT4 iii) assay (in Greece from February 2019 onwards). The new assay is considered to have reduced biotin interference compared to its previous version (Ft4 ii). Kits of the FT4 ii assay are still available (and valid) according to the manufacturer’s expiration date. Using the FT4 ii assay per the manufacturer’s instructions we noticed FT4...