Endocrine Abstracts

Aim: Differentiating idiopathic hypogonadotrophic hypogonadism from extreme maturational delay can be difficult, so most boys receive testosterone (T) replacement until the diagnosis becomes clear. Standard 3 month T therapy for maturational delay does not diminish adult stature, so we set out to determine whether T treatment of greater than 6 months duration would have an adverse effect on final height (FH) in boys with the eventual diagnosis of extreme maturational delay.</p...

This work focuses on the characterization of circulating tumor cells(CTCs) captured from the blood of cancer patients using a microfluidic chip functionalized with an antibody against the epithelial cell adhesion molecule (EPCAM). We visualize CTCs captured from the blood of prostate cancer patients taking advantage of the unique tumor-associated marker, prostate specific antigen (PSA). Our data demonstrate that CTCs are detectable preoperatively in patients with early stage, ...

Objectives: The TNM classification is a worldwide benchmark for reporting the extent of malignant disease and is intended as a prognostic tool to predict the outcome in patients with cancer. Until 2004, no TNM classification was available for adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC) and different staging systems were used. Due to the rarity of this malignancy, the prognostic value of different staging systems has never been compared directly in a large series of patients.<p class="a...

The mTOR and IGF pathways have been suggested to play a role in the pathogenesis of pheochromocytomas (PCC). mTOR inhibitors, as sirolimus (S) and everolimus (E), as well as IGF1R antagonists could be a potential novel treatment for malignant PPC.The aim of this study was to evaluate the expression of the main components of the IGF/mTOR pathway in human PCC and to investigate the effects of the mTOR inhibitors S and E and of the IGF1R/insulin receptor (I...

Objective: The soluble leptin receptor (sOb-R) is generated by ectodomain shedding of the membrane-associated Ob-R and may modulate leptin action in metabolic dysregulations. The objective of our study was to investigate whether or not sOb-R generation may be induced by indicators of energy availability or metabolic regulators in a cell model.Material and methods: The four human Ob-R isoforms were cloned, characterized by binding experiments with 125-iod...

Ghrelin, the natural ligand for the GHS-R, modulates proliferation in cell lines derived from malignant breast tissue. It has been suggested that this action is independent of the GHS-R. We have previously demonstrated that MCF7 cells expressed ghrelin but not GHS-R mRNA and MDA-MB231 cells expressed GHS-R but not ghrelin mRNA. To determine whether ghrelin modulates proliferation in MCF7 and MDA-MB231 cells we performed proliferation assays treating with saline, 1 and 10nM ghr...

Introduction: HIV-infected patients often display a moderate to severe GH deficiency (GHD). To investigate the effects of r-hGH on hormonal parameters and body composition in patients with HIV-related lipodystrophy (HIV-r-L) and concomitant GHD, we studied 60 patients with HIV-r-L, 28 male and 32 females aged 18–65 years. According to their response to GHRH+Arginine (GH peak assumed to be normal when >7.5 ng/ml) patients were assigned to the following 3 groups: Group ...

Background: Adult growth hormone (GH) deficiency (AGHD) is related with alterations in body composition, increased abdominal and visceral adiposity, adverse change in lipid and carbohydrate metabolism, and reduction of bone mineral density (BMD).Aim: To compare baseline outcomes concerning body composition and biochemical/hormonal data among adult patients with AGHD referring to a single endocrinological center and grouped according to their history of r...

Objectives: Eating disorders often co-occur with diabetes, and this comorbidity is associated with severe medical complications. The DEPS-R is a 16-item diabetes-specific self-report measure of disordered eating that can be completed in <10 min. The purpose of the study was to translate and validate the Russian version of the Diabetes Eating Problem Survey–Revised (DEPS-R).Methods: 372 patients with diabetes mellitus using insulin injections par...

Ghrelin is a novel growth hormone-releasing peptide, recently identified in the rat stomach as the endogenous ligand for the growth hormone secretagogue-receptor (GHS-R). Previously, regulation of GH release was thought to occur primarily via a phasic interaction between two hypothalamic neuropeptides, GHRH and somatostatin. It is now thought that ghrelin is an important third factor in the regulatory pathway. In addition to its GH-releasing activity ghrelin may have other act...