Endocrine Abstracts

Men living at high altitudes in Peru compared to sea level counterparts have erythrocytosis (Hemoglobin: 16–21 g/dl) or excessive erythrocytosis (Hemoglobin>21 g/dl). High testosterone (T) levels in men at high altitude (HA) were associated with excessive erythrocytosis. High androgen levels could be due to a low aromatase activity or to an elevated rate of conversion from precursors to testosterone. The aim of this study was to evaluate aromatase activity and rate of...

Introduction: Acromegaly is a rare disease caused by chronic exposure to excessive levels of GH, usually related to the presence of a pituitary adenoma, and associated to somatic and visceral hypertrophy, metabolic alterations, respiratory and cardiovascular complications, and increased risk of neoplasias.Materials and methods: The prevalence of manifestations, complications and associated illness was evaluated in 137 acromegalic subjects (52 M, 85 F; ag...

ITT is the test of reference for the diagnosis of adult GH deficiency (GHD), but also GHRH in combination with arginine (ARG) or GH secretagogues (GHS) are considered equally reliable tests. Testing with GHS alone is, anyway, a potent stimulus exploring the integrity of hypothalamic pathways controlling somatotropic function.We therefore aimed to clarify the diagnostic reliability of testing with ghrelin, the natural GHS.We studied...

Insulin tolerance test (ITT) is considered the golden standard test to evaluate HPA axis in suspected hypopituitarism. Low dose (1 μg) ACTH1–24 short stimulation test (LDSST) and metyrapone are often used when ITT is contraindicated. The diagnostic reliability of LDSST is, however, controversial, as even this dose has been considered supramaximal, while very low ACTH doses have been suggested more reliable to assess the adrenal sensitivity. Thus, in...

Serum IGF-I levels were measured in 547 non-hypopituitaric, non acromegalic healthy subjects of both sexes in Italy to develop reference values in relation to age and gender. Participant subjects were stratified in three age classes (25–39, 40–59 and≥60 years) and IGF-I assay was carried out by double-antibody radio immunoassay. The Pearson’s correlation coefficient between age and IGF-I values was calculated by sex and pre-defined age ranges. IGF-I levels...

High risk of impaired glucose tolerance and diabetes mellitus is frequently observed in acromegalic patients. Some studies have reported a direct correlation between circulating GH levels and the degree of glucose intolerance. Microalbuminuria clusters with the metabolic syndrome and both conditions predict cardiovascular disease mortality. The reported relationships of microalbuminuria with the individual components of the metabolic syndrome are variable. Aim of this prelimin...

GH hypersection results in biventricular concentric hypertrophy and a progressive contractile impairment whereas cardiac hypotrophy and impaired diastolic filling and left ventricular function have been reported in GH deficiency (GHD). No information on cardiac performances and structure are available about those acromegalic patients in whom successful treatment made their GH and IGF-I secretion similar to those in GHD patients. In order to study the functional and structural ...