Endocrine Abstracts

Aim: To describe characteristics and outcomes of Italian patients with hypopituitarism participating in HypoCCS.Methods: Study population was stratified by max GH peak (mGHp) and BMI. Baseline variables included demographic characteristics, type of deficit, smoking habits; variables analyzed over time included weight, Framingham cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk, lipids, GH dose.Results: Italian subpopulation included 342 patients ...

Introduction: HNF-1β maturity-onset diabetes of the young (MODY5) is uncommon, nevertheless accurate diagnosis guides individualized management and informs prognosis in probands and relatives.Objective: To emphasize the importance of the appropriate use of clinical, biochemical and genetic investigations for the correct classification of diabetes etiology.Case-report: A 35-year-old overweight Latin-American male was diagnosed ...

Introduction: Obesity is often accompanied by comorbidites predisposing atherosclerosis. Carotid intima-media complex thickness (CIMT) is consisdered as a marker of initial asymptomatic atherosclerosis. The relationship of sex hormones to obesity and atherosclerosis has been extensively studied.Objective: The objective of the study was to analyze the correlation CIMT and sex steroid levels in severly obese pre-menopausal women.Meth...

The liver produces and secretes sex hormone–binding globulin (SHBG), which transports sex steroids and regulates their access to tissues. Body mass index is a major determinant SHBG concentration in the blood of men and women. Low plasma SHBG levels are associated with obesity and predict the development of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. The reason why obese individuals have low circulating SHBG has been attributed to hyperinsulinemia, but no mechanistic evi...

Introduction: Neuroendocrine tumors of the lungs comprise 20% of primary lung tumors. Nestin is an intermediate filament protein, expressed in stem cells during fetal development. It is also described as a potential cancer stem cell marker, angiogenesis marker and indicator of poorer survival probability for patients with some types of malignancies. Adversely, Klotho gene is a potential tumor suppressor. Aberrant expression of Klotho have been recently noticed in a number of c...

Introduction: A breech presentation occurs in 3–5% of all full-term pregnancies and is associated with increased risk of maternal and foetal morbidity. Factors known to increase the risk of breech presentation include prematurity, low birth weight and multiple pregnancies. Recent studies suggest maternal thyroid hormone deficiency in late pregnancy may also be a risk factor. Our study aims to assess if a breech presentation at 36 weeks gestation in a healthy singleton coh...

11β-Hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1 (11β-HSD1) converts inactive glucocorticoid to their active form (cortisone to cortisol in humans, 11-dehydrocorticosterone (11-DHC) to corticosterone in mice), and is dependent upon the presence of cofactor NADPH generated by the enzyme hexose-6-phosphate (H6PDH) for its activity. The 11β-HSD1/H6PDH system is implicated in the pathogenesis of the metabolic syndrome by generating tissue specific glucocorticoid excess. The ...

The epidemic of obesity, insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes has heightened the need to understand the mechanisms that contribute to their pathogenesis. Endogenous glucocorticoid (GC) production and metabolism have been implicated based upon parallels with Cushing’s syndrome. The interaction between GC metabolism and insulin sensitivity in the context of significant weight loss has not been explored. 11β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1 (11β-HSD1) that gen...

Adamantinomatous craniopharyngioma (ACP) is a paediatric pituitary tumour that is associated with high morbidity due to the tendency of the tumour to infiltrate locally into surrounding brain structures such as the hypothalamus and visual tracts. We have developed mouse models for human ACP, which we are using to better understand the pathogenesis of these human tumours as well as to test novel targeted treatments. Using advanced imaging techniques such as X-ray computed tomog...

Adamantinomatous craniopharyngioma (ACP) is an epithelial intracranial lesion arising from Rathke’s pouch with a median age at diagnosis of 8 years. ACP is the third most common paediatric brain tumour, accounting for approximately 5–13% of brain tumours, and the commonest pituitary tumour among children. Although histologically benign, ACP often behaves aggressively with invasion of the hypothalamus and visual pathways. Consequences associated with both the tumour a...