Endocrine Abstracts

Background: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is reported to be more prevalent in patients with GH deficiency (GHD) than in the general population. Case control studies have not however been undertaken. Recognition of NAFLD is important due to its association with cardiovascular disease and chronic liver disease.Aims: To determine i) the prevalence of NAFLD in patients with severe GHD compared to age and BMI-matched controls, and, ii) the effect ...

Background: Adult hypopituitarism is associated with premature vascular mortality for which the underlying mechanisms are unknown but untreated GH deficiency is proposed as a potential contributor.Objectives: To characterise vascular risk, including paraoxonase-1 (PON1; an antioxidant enzyme which preserves LDL against oxidation), in adults with treated panhypopituitarism.Study subjects: The study had full ethics approval. Data are...

The anterior pituitary gland is a critical endocrine organ responsible for many important physiological processes including puberty, fertility, metabolism and the stress response. It is derived from, and maintained by, a population of SOX2+ progenitor/stem cells which become more quiescent with age until their direct contribution to tissue turnover becomes negligible. Previous research has demonstrated that the postnatal SOX2+ population exhibits heterogeneity in terms of mark...

We report the case of a 34-year-old woman with a personal history of type 1 diabetes mellitus (DM1) since she was 9 years old. Very poor chronic metabolic control stands out despite multiple insulin schemes with multiple complications: nephropathy, retinopathy and peripheral neuropathy. She was admitted to the hospitalization floor due to diabetic ketoacidosis. At admission Hba1c of 15.3%. During admission after treatment with IV insulin, improvement in glycemic control. Nine ...

Complementary therapies are becoming a recognised adjunctin cancer care as they address the psychological burden of coping with cancer. When provided in addition to standard treatments they can help provide patient centred holistic care. Patients with pituitary conditions may develop debilitating symptoms that are not easily addressed despite appropriate medical treatment.Aim: To determine whether Complementary therapies lead to improvements in Quality o...

Background: Pituitary adenomas (PAs) in the elderly, defined as people older than 65 years, represent less than 10% of all PAs. Because of increasing life expectancy and improving health care, diagnosis PAs in this age group is increasing with time. Age-related changes and associated diseases may significantly modify the clinical presentation in these patients, delaying the diagnosis of PAs.Objective: To analyse the clinical features of PAs in elderly pa...

Introduction: Thyroid nodule is a frequent condition, being diagnosed in up to 70% of subjects who had undergone thyroid ultrasound. Around 90-95% of them became being benign and, if the do not cause compressive symptoms or esthetical problems, they do not need specific therapy, only clinical follow up. Traditionally, thyroidectomy has been the main therapeutic option in these cases. Radiofrequency and ethanol ablations are recently introduced non-invasive therapies that permi...

The pituitary gland is a critical endocrine organ regulating multiple essential physiological processes including growth, reproduction, metabolism and the stress response. Hormone-producing pituitary cell lineages are derived from a population of embryonic precursors expressing the transcription factor SOX2. These cells maintain multipotency into early postnatal life, acting as the resident population of pituitary stem cells (PSCs) and contributing to all the endocrine cell li...

Pheochromocytomas and paragangliomas (PPGLs) are rare neuroendocrine tumours, which arise from neural crest (NC)-derived structures: the adrenal medulla and the paraganglia. Around one third of PPGLs are associated with inherited cancer susceptibility genes, the highest rate among all tumour types. Currently, the only diagnostic criterion for malignant disease is the presence of metastasis and no molecular or histological features have been identified that help predict risk. A...

The pituitary gland is a dynamic organ that adapts its cellular architecture throughout life, making it an ideal model for the study of stem cells (SCs), their commitment and differentiation. Sox2-expressing cells are bona fide anterior pituitary stem cells (PSCs), which through genetic lineage tracing have been shown to give rise to all anterior pituitary hormone-producing cells both in the embryo and adult. The YAP/TAZ signalling pathway has been previously...