Endocrine Abstracts

Adrenal insufficiency is a life-threatening condition in which the adrenal glands fail to produce adequate amounts of steroid hormones thus leading to severe disturbances of body homeostasis. Today’s treatment options are limited to hormone replacement therapies that are, however, hampered by serious side effects. Cell replacement therapies with adrenocortical stem cells could present a potential cure, but the culture of such stem cells has proven difficult. We have devel...

Background: In the last decade, the combination of the widespread use of streptavidin-biotin technology and biotin–containing supplements (BCS) in the daily clinical practice, have led to numerous reports of erroneous hormone immunoassay results. However, there are no studies assessing the clinical and biochemical significance of that phenomenon, when treating patients with hypothyroidism. Therefore, a prospective study was designed to investigate the potential alteration...

Stress can lead to an increase in body fat and obesity as main clinical conditions preceding the metabolic syndrome. In metabolic stress, hyperactivation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis has been observed, resulting in increased steroidogenesis and alteration of cortisol secretion1. This increased sensitivity of the HPA axis may be related to the development of comorbidities or severe illness in patients with metabolic diseases and vice ...

Introduction: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) has become the leading cause of chronic liver disorders in Western countries, encompassing a spectrum of diseases ranging from simple steatosis to liver fibrosis and cirrhosis. Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS), the most common endocrine disorder of women during the reproductive period, is often implicated with NAFLD.Aim: To investigate the potential involvement of PCOS on the aggravation of NAFLD by...

Introduction: Thyroglossal duct (TGD) carcinoma is an uncommon entity, diagnosed in patients undergoing evaluation of the neck for midline swelling, or incidentally after removal of a TGD cyst. Despite the presence of multiple publications on the topic, no systematic characterization of these tumors has been performed to date.Methods: We performed a systematic search for the term “Thyroglossal duct” in Pubmed, Embase and Cochrane databases on D...

A 28-year-old female presented to ED with one week history of flu-like symptoms, palpitations, increasing breathlessness, and productive cough with copious sputum, of two days duration. There was h/o some weight loss over the last year, with episodic palpitations over the last 8-10 years that increased in frequency over the last one year. She had a family history of hyperthyroidism paternally and maternally. On examination, there was mild lid-lag and proptosis. She was tachypn...

The endometrium is a complex tissue with luminal and glandular epithelial cell layers supported on a multicellular stromal compartment; in women the inner (luminal) portion of the tissue breaks down and is shed during menstruation. The endometrium is exquisitely sensitive to the actions of sex steroids (oestrogens, progestogens and androgens) produced in ovarian and other extra gonadal tissues and delivered via blood vessels that rapidly develop and mature within the tissue (e...

Background: Toxic adenoma (TA) is a rare cause of hyperthyroidism in children, representing less than 3% of cases, more frequently affecting girls. The risk of malignancy in pediatric autonomous nodules is unknown. Despite current guidelines on the management of TA, published case series reveal discrepancies in medical practice.Case presentation: We report a case of TA in a 7-year old boy, incidentally detected as a palpable mass during examination for l...

Objective: Flash Glucose Monitoring (FGM) is becoming increasingly popular among children with Type 1 diabetes. Our aim was to evaluate real-life data from children using FGM followed in our center.Methods: We studied 37 patients (51.4% males), with a mean±S.D. age of 10.1±3.9 years at FGM start for a period of 10.1±6.5 months. HbA1c, BMI z-score, number of self-reported and severe hypoglycemias, total insulin daily dose/kg ...

Introduction: Sporadic primary hyperparathyroidism (sporadic PHPT) is a common endocrine disorder, usually caused by a single parathyroid adenoma. However, up to 15% of patients present with multiple gland disease (MGD), which cannot be always diagnosed preoperatively, raising serious management problems. No predictive genetic screening tests are currently available to distinguishing adenomas from MGD in sporadic PHPT. MiRNAs are widely established as genetic molecules that ha...