Endocrine Abstracts

Background: The normal cut-offs of screening and diagnostic tests for autonomous aldosterone (AAS) and cortisol (ACS) secretion are poorly defined, mainly due to the presence of adrenal adenomas among those who have served as controls and the stimulating effect of ACTH on aldosterone secretion.Methods: We investigated cortisol and aldosterone secretion in 151 patients with benign cortical adrenal adenomas (BCAA) and in 119 healthy controls with a normal ...

Introduction: Primary aldosteronism (PA), the most common endocrine cause of secondary hypertension, is generally underdiagnosed using current diagnostic tests.Aim: To present our 14-year experience of prospective studies on the diagnosis, prevalence and treatment of PA.Patients and methods: We studied 992 hypertensive patients and 278 age-, sex- and body mass index – matched controls (194 normotensive and 104 with essential h...

The existence of the principle of hypothalamic hypophysiotropic factors, predicted so prophetically by G W Harris in the 1940’s, has been confirmed by irrefutable evidence. This principle is central to the survival of complex organisms as both individuals and species. Life exists through maintenance of a complex dynamic equilibrium, or homeostasis, that is constantly challenged by intrinsic or extrinsic adverse forces, or stressors. Thus, stress is defined as a state of t...

This prestigious prize is intended for established workers in the field of basic or clinical neuroendocrinology, and is generously support by Ipsen. This year's recipient is Professor George P Chrousos. The prize will be presented as part of the ECE 2008 opening ceremony where Professor Chrousos will deliver his lecture. Professor Chrousos will also give two other lectures at future ESE scientific meetings. Further information can be found at <a href="http://www...

Multiple endocrine neoplasia (MEN) includes a group of autosomal dominant disorders, associated with the development of a variety of endocrine and non-endocrine manifestations. MEN4 is a rare and the latest reported type in the spectrum of the MEN syndromes. MEN4 was discovered initially in rats (MENX) and later in humans. It is caused by germline and somatic mutations in the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor 1B (CDKN1B) tumor suppressor gene, which encodes nuclear protein p27...

Presence of primary hyperparathyroidism (PHPT) in patients with thyroid disease has been previously reported. However, co-existence of PTHPT and papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) has been reported very rarely, mainly in the form of isolated case reports. Since the pathophysiological mechanisms of the two diseases are theoretically quite different, no causal relation between these diseases has been inferred. The aim of this study was to investigate the presence of PHTP in individu...

Introduction: Osteopenia and osteoporosis develop with aging in thalassemia patients despite clinical treatment therapy has improved. Bisphosphonates, which are potent inhibitors of osteoclastic bone resorption, have been recently used to correct the bone abnormality in thalassemia with encouraging results. Bisphosphonates are a class of drugs that prevent the loss of bone mass, used to treat osteoporosis and similar diseases. They are the most commonly prescribed drugs used t...

Background: Generalized glucocorticoid resistance is a rare condition characterized by partial, end-organ insensitivity to glucocorticoids, compensatory elevations in ACTH and cortisol secretion, and increased production of adrenal steroids with androgenic and/or mineralocorticoid activity. We identified a new case of glucocorticoid resistance caused by a novel, heterozygous point mutation at nucleotide position 2209 (T → C) of the hGRα gene, resulting in phenylalan...

Introduction: The causes of arterial hypertension in diabetic and non-diabetic hypertensive patients are still not clear. However, in recent studies in non-diabetic hypertensive patients (NDHP) we observed dysregulation of aldosterone (ALD) secretion either in the form of autonomous secretion or as hyperesponse to stress. To the best of our knowledge, a similar study in hypertensive patients with type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (DHP) has not been conducted yet....

Numerous studies have identified several extra-skeletal health outcomes to be associated with vitamin D deficiency, yet a definitive causal link is yet to be discovered. Our recent 3D LC-nESI-FTMS proteomic analysis among normal and overweight but apparently healthy adult Saudis identified apolipoproteins, a known independent cardiovascular risk factor, as one of the serological molecular signatures that modulate vitamin D levels. The present interventional study aims to compa...