Endocrine Abstracts

Introduction: Langerhans cell histiocytosis (LCH) is a rare disease that occurs mainly in childhood. In its multifocal form, the central nervous system may be affected, but rarely as the primary site of the disease. The prevalence of central diabetes insipidus (CDI) ranges from 10% to 50% and in most cases is established after the diagnosis of LCH. We report 2 cases of CDI that revealed a LCH.Observations: Case 1: A one-year old male patient was admitted...

Introduction: Known to be ‘male Turner syndrome’, Noonan syndrome (NS) classically associates short stature, facial dysmorphism, and congenital heart disease. It is an autosomal dominant disease with an incidence of 1: 1,000 to 1: 2,500. We report 3 observations of NS.Observations: Case 1: A 7-year-old female patient was admitted for a growth delay. On examination, she had a dysmorphic syndrome suggestive of NS: facial dysmorphism with triangul...

Follistatin like 3 (FSTL-3) is an endogenous inhibitor that binds and inhibits TGFβ family ligands such as activin, myostatin and GDF11. Activin plays crucial roles in development, cellular proliferation and apoptosis while myostatin is a known blocker of muscle growth. To identify physiological roles of FSTL3, FSTL3 gene deletion mice (FSTL3 KO) were generated which displayed altered glucose and lipid metabolism phenotypes. To address the role of FSTL3 in cellular biolog...

Male problems such as oligospermia, azoospermia among others, affect around 30% of infertile couples. Male fecundity relies on the production of large numbers of spermatozoa which is dependent on the number of Sertoli cells. Activin and related TGFβ family ligands regulate testicular development and function. Follistatin Like-3 (FSTL3) is a glycoprotein that binds and inhibits activin. FSTL3 deletion in mice leads to increased adult testicular size with concurrent increas...

Male problems such as oligospermia, azoospermia among others, affect around 30% of infertile couples. Male fecundity relies on the production of large numbers of spermatozoa which is dependent on the number of Sertoli cells. Activin and related TGFβ family ligands regulate testicular development and function. Follistatin Like-3 (FSTL3) is a glycoprotein that binds and inhibits activin. FSTL3 deletion in mice leads to increased adult testicular size with concurrent increas...

Loss of muscle mass is associated with ageing and several degenerative pathological conditions which limit movement and critically impair quality of life. One key regulator of muscle mass is myostatin which inhibits muscle growth. In circulation, myostatin is bound to follistatin-like 3 (FSTL3) in an inactive complex. FSTL3 is a natural, soluble regulator of myostatin along with follistatin (FST) and myostatin propeptide. In the FSTL3 gene deleted mouse (FSTL3 KO), however, to...

Introduction: Growth hormone deficiency (GHD) is a non-exceptional cause of short stature. Hormonal evaluation and hypothalamic-pituitary MRI are essential to establish the etiological diagnosis. The objective of our study is to assess the different pituitary lesions found in imaging in a group of children with GHD.Patients and methods: This is a retrospective longitudinal study of 22 cases of GHD who underwent pituitary MRI examination collected in the ...

Introduction: Polyuria-polydipsia syndrome is an uncommon problem in clinical practice defined by the combination of production of ‘abnormally’ large volumes of urine (>3 L/day in adults and 2 L/m2 in children) with the persistent intake of abnormally large quantities of fluids. The purpose of this study is to detail the clinical and etiological profile of polyuria-polydipsia syndrome in the Endocrinology-Diabetology Department of Oujda’s Universi...

Introduction: GH deficiency (GHD) is a rare etiology of short stature. The lack of early diagnosis and adequate treatment have adverse consequences, especially the small final height with the resulting psychological impact. The aim of this study is to identify some of the predictive factors influencing stature gain during the first year of GH therapy.Materials and methods: This is a retrospective longitudinal study of 14 cases of complete GHD collected i...

Introduction: Pituitary Stalk Interruption Syndrome (PSIS) is characterized by the presence of a thin or absent pituitary stalk, associated with hypoplastic or aplastic anterior pituitary and ectopic posterior pituitary (EPP) on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The objective of this study is to describe the clinical, hormonal and radiological aspects of PSIS.Patients and methods: This is a retrospective longitudinal study of 9 cases of PSIS collected in...