Endocrine Abstracts

Introduction: We evaluated the prevalence of metabolic and cardiovascular complications in a Romanian population with adrenal incidentalomas in comparison with an age-matched control group, evaluated in our clinic.Patients and methods: After excluding patients with overt functioning adrenal tumors, subclinical pheochromocytomas, malignant tumors, myelolipomas, data were retrieved from the files of 190 patients with adrenal incidentalomas ≥1 cm and ...

Objective: To evaluate whether serum GH and IGF1 levels achieved after 3 months treatment with somatostatin analogues (SSA) are concordant with the efficacy of SSA after longer treatment with the same dose.Patients and methods: From 71 patients with acromegaly treated with SSA in our clinic, in 38 of them (28 women, 10 men, aged 22–62 years) data on serum GH and IGF1 were available at baseline, after 3 months and at the last evaluation on the same S...

Introduction: Phaeochromocytomas (PHEO) are tumours of the chromaffin cells and are usually detected due to the typical symptom triad including headache, palpitations and sweating associated with persistent and/or paroxysmal blood hypertension. An increasing proportion of PHEO is incidentally discovered upon abdominal imaging.Objective: To analyse the clinical characteristics of the incidentally discovered phaeochromocytomas.Method...

Background: Androgen receptor (AR) activity is modulated by the length of CAG-repeat polymorphism in exon 1. Published data suggest association between CAG-repeat alleles and PCOS, but not all studies confirmed this finding.Aim: To test association of AR alleles with PCOS and clinical and biochemical signs of hyperandrogenism.Study design: Case–control association study, approved by the institutional ethical committee, of 137 ...

Introduction: Remission rate in microprolactinomas after treatment with dopamine agonists (DA) is variable, from about 25% in bromocriptine-treated patients to 46% in those treated with cabergoline.Patients: We retrospectively studied the remission rate in 98 patients with prolactinomas ≤1 cm evaluated in 1982–2009 in our department and treated with DA for at least 1 year.Results: Mean age of patients is 26.5±8 year...

Aim: To evaluate the clinical efficacy of androgen replacement therapy with oral or intramuscular (i.m.) testosterone undecanoate (T.U.) in male patients with central hypogonadism.Patients and methods: We retrospectively evaluated 40 patients with hypogonadotropic hypogonadism: 29 with pituitary tumors or craniopharyn-giomas, 11 with non-tumoral hypogonadism (median age 47 years, range 20–62), before and after androgen replacement therapy, with the ...

Some patients with pituitary adenomas show high CSF levels and/or high CSF/serum ratio for peptidic pituitary hormones (PR), potentially due to a blood-brain barrier (BBB) damage. We evaluated albumin.CSF/serum ratio (AR) in patients with pituitary adenomas and elevated PR, as an accurate index for a BBB damage.Patients and methods: We evaluated 10 controls (21–79 years, 6M /4 F) before undergoing abdominal or peripheral surgery and 52 patients with...

Background: According to current guidelines, RET mutation screening is indicated for MEN2 and familial MTC (FMTC) kindreds, as well as for apparently sporadic MTC patients.Aim: To investigate RET mutations in Romanian MEN2, FMTC and sporadic MTC cases.Patients and methods: RET mutation screening was performed by high-resolution melting analysis followed by direct sequencing of PCR products of exons 10-11 in 7 MEN2A families, 2 FMTC...