Endocrine Abstracts

Current issues relating to pituitary incidentalomas include definitional limits, difficulties in their diagnosis resulting in hidden dangers, unknown pathogeny and management based on expectation. The prevalence of pituitary incidentalomas depends on the method of investigation: 3.2–27% in necroptic studies or 10–23% by imaging (MRI or CT), compared to only 0.1% clinically expressed pituitary adenomas. Diagnosis requires at least imaging and hormonal assays. However,...

Introduction: Thyrotropinomas are rare pituitary tumours. Neurosurgery is considered the first-line treatment, followed by medical therapy with somatostatin analogues or radiotherapy.Case reports: We present two cases of thyrotropinomas with different therapeutic approaches. Case 1: A 63-year old man presented with severe thyrotoxicosis. Biochemical evaluation showed inappropriate TSH secretion (TSH=7.5 mU/l, FT4=45.5 pmol/l); computed tomogra...

Background: Few cases of hypersensitivity of thyroid–pituitary feedback in hypothyroid children were reported.Aim: To present a family with asymptomatic, severe biochemical primary autoimmune hypothyroidism who showed a marked sensitivity of pituitary feedback to levothyroxine treatment.Methods: TSH was measured by 3rd generation immunoassay kit.Case report: R.G, woman, aged 22, presented for asymptomati...

Background: Risk stratification could be lifesaving in acute pulmonary embolism (PE). Echocardiographic (ECHO) acute right ventricular dysfunction (RVD) is the actual ‘gold standard’ in risk assessment of patients with PE. We previously demonstrated that plasma BNP levels were significantly higher in patients with PE and acute RVD on ECHO versus patients with normal right ventricular (RV) function on ECHO.Aim and objective: Evaluation of the li...

Introduction: Isolated acquired ACTH deficiency is rare; it may be due to hypophysitis and association with other autoimmune diseases was reported.Case report: E.L, female, aged 34, was diagnosed with primary autoimmune hypothyroidism and premature ovarian failure; levothyroxine and estroprogestins were administered. Suddenly, the patient developed vomiting, shivers without fever and soon coma installed, with tonic-clonic seizures. There was no history o...

Background: We previously demonstrated plasma BNP to be a valuable biomarker of right ventricular dysfunction (RVD) in patients with acute pulmonary embolism (PE). Several specific ECG abnormalities related to the right ventricular strain were described in patients with PE.Objective: Assessment of the correlation of plasma BNP levels with ECG signs of RVD in patients with PE.Methods: Seventy patients with confirmed acute PE, 42(60%...

Introduction: There are high levels of anterior pituitary hormones in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), i.e. beyond the blood–brain barrier, in many patients with pituitary tumors.Aim: To assess the influence of CSF pituitary hormones on brain functions reflected by sleep architecture and sleep apnea.Method: Twenty-nine patients (17 women, 12 men) with pituitary adenomas (20 acromegaly, 5 nonfunctioning pituitary adenomas, 4 prol...

In acromegalic patients growth hormone (GH) excess induces insulin resistance but whether this is sufficient, in the face of normal insulin secretion, for pre-diabetes (impaired fasting glucose (IFG) and impaired glucose tolerance (IGT)) to occur is a matter of debate.Aim: To assess the relative role of insulin resistance and insulin secretion in the pre-diabetes of acromegaly.Methods: One hundred and twenty-four patients with acro...

Lanreotide has long been used in the therapy of GH secreting pituitary adenomas and other somatostatin receptor positive neuroendocrine tumors.Aims: To determine the impact on glucose metabolism of the 6 months of lanreotide therapy, beside of the antisecretory and antiproliferative effects.Patients and methods: Seven patients with active acromegaly treated with lanreotide, admitted in the Department of Neuroendocrinology, Institut...

Our initial studies suggested that plurihormonal cells are constantly found in early embryonic stages of human pituitary but are very rare later.Aim: A quantitative evaluation and morphological characterization of these plurihormonal cells.Methods: Pituitaries from therapeutically aborted human fetuses of 8–24 weeks, gestational age were fixed (with ethical permission) by immersion in 4% buffered formaldehyde. One-μm-thic...