Endocrine Abstracts

Pheochromocytomas (PHEOs) and paragangliomas (PGLs) are rare neuroendocrine tumors. About 30–40% of Pheo/PGLs are due to a germ-line mutation in one of the 13 main susceptibility genes which include the genes encoding the four subunits of the succinate dehydrogenase (SDH - mitochondrial complex II). In PHEO/PGL due to SDHB mutations up to 80% of affected patients develop metastatic disease and no successful cure is at present available. Tumor microenvironment plays a pivo...

Paragangliomas are rare neuroendocrine tumors derived from neural crest cells: if localized in the adrenal medulla they are called Pheocromocytomas (Pheo).The 30–40% of Pheo are mutated in one of the susceptibility genes among which there are genes encoding for the four subunits of the succinate dehydrogenase (SDH). Germ line mutations of SDHB are metastatic in about 80% of the cases. Surgery is the current therapy, but in presence of metastasis there is no effective trea...

Introduction: Hypertension (HTN) is a major cardiovascular (CV) risk factor and independent predictor of the increased mortality in patients with acromegaly. Surgical cure of acromegaly is associated with improvement in blood pressure (BP) levels, however little is known on the effect of pegvisomant (PEGV) treatment on HTN.Methods/design: ACROSTUDY is an open-label, international, prospective, non-interventional study monitoring the long-term safety of P...

Purpose: Previous studies have established that obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) frequently co-exists in persons with type 2 diabetes (T2DM) with negative effects on glycemic control and functional outcomes. However, there is limited data about the effect of insomnia or co-morbid OSA and insomnia among those with T2DM. We compared glucose control, functional outcomes, sleep quality, and daytime sleepiness among 4 groups of participants with T2DM: (i) OSA, (ii) insomnia, (iii) OSA...

Introduction: Radiation-induced hypopituitarism has been well-described in childhood-onset brain tumour survivors, however in adults has received less attention. The aim of this study was to assess the pituitary-related outcomes following cXRT in adults with extra-sellar gliomas.Methods: We retrospectively collected longitudinal data regarding pituitary-related outcomes from medical records of 59 patients, diagnosed with extra-sellar gliomas in adulthood...

Gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) regulates secretion of the reproductive hormones luteinising hormone (LH) and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) in mammals. Homologs of GnRH have been identified in protostomian and deuterostomian invertebrates, and functional studies suggest an ancient role in regulation of reproductive physiology. The aim of this study was to characterise for the first time a GnRH-type signalling system in an echinoderm, using the starfish Asterias ...

Introduction: Radiation-induced hypopituitarism is a well-recognized complication of cranial radiotherapy (cXRT) for childhood brain tumours when the hypothalamo–pituitary axis is within the irradiation field. Few data are available for survivors of adult brain tumours who have received cranial irradiation.Methods: We retrospectively reviewed medical records of patients referred to Endocrinology following cXRT for primary non-pituitary brain tumours...

Introduction: Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is a protein that has been linked to several cardiovascular risk factors and bone status. Stress and corticosteroid exposure can affect BDNF levels, although this has never been studied in Cushing’s syndrome (CS). The aims of this study were to establish if BDNF levels were reduced in CS and to check possible associations to cardiovascular risk factors and bone status.Methods: 52 patients (18 ac...

Aim: The aim of this paper is to report on the outcomes of a randomized controlled trial designed to evaluate the effectiveness of a group-based lifestyle intervention programme for reducing the risk factors associated with diabetes in women with pre diabetes following gestational diabetes. We expected that the group based intervention through its educational and supportive approach would enable improvements in psychosocial health, health behaviours, anthropometry, and glucose...

Introduction: Acromegaly is associated with increased bone turnover and skeletal fragility. Although the GH/IGF1 system plays an important role in bone homeostasis, effects of GH excess on the Wnt signalling pathway are to be determined. Bone quantitative CT (QCT) provides a volumetric, tridimensional measure of bone mass at the trabecular and cortical level.Aim: i) To compare volumetric bone density (vBMD) using QCT in patients with acromegaly vs gender...