Endocrine Abstracts

Alstrom syndrome is an autosomal recessive disorder characterised by obesity, sensorineural deafness, cone-rod dystrophy and hypergonadotrophic hypogonadism. Diabetes in these patients is characterised by severe insulin resistance.We describe the management of diabetes in a 28 year old male patient with Alstrom syndrome and severe insulin resistance. Obesity developed early in childhood and at 3 years weight was 22.2 kg. Genetic studies revealed that the patient is a compo...

The factors affecting counterregulatory (CR) responses to hypoglycaemia in T2DM remain uncertain. Previous studies have suggested an effect of glycaemic control on CR responses in T2DM. Little data exists on the effect of treatment with metformin (MET) vs. Sulphonylurea (SUL) on the CR responses to hypoglycaemia in T2DM.To date, we have performed stepped hypoglycaemic hyperinsulinaemic clamp studies (2-4 mU/kg/min) on 5 subjects treated with MET (Age 50....

Vasopressin release is stimulated following the administration of 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA ) in man. MDMA and a major metabolite, 4-hydroxy-3-methoxymethamphetamine (HMMA), have also been shown to stimulate neurohypophysial hormone release in vitro. A study has now been performed comparing the response to four other metabolites with the parent compound. Hypothalami obtained from male Wistar rats were exposed to medium alone (B1) and the medium containing ...

Objectives: Secretion of GH, a pituitary and anabolic hormone that reduces visceral fat, is diminished in obese or elderly subjects. The reduced GH may induce visceral fat accumulation and subsequently accelerate metabolic syndrome in these population. In the present study, we sought the effect of chronic GH supplement on visceral fat and glucose metabolism in diet-induced obese (DIO) mice.Methods and results: Male obese mice (C57BL/6, 12 weeks old) unde...

This study presents epidemiological data of 1512 Italian acromegalic patients who had been diagnosed from 1980 to 2002 and followed-up for more than 10 years, retrospectively collected by 24 tertiary referral centers. Data on co-morbidities and mortality were compared to those of the general Italian population obtained by the Italian National Institute of Statistic. At diagnosis median age of patients (41% M, 59% F) was 46 years, GH (mean±S.D.) 31±37 m...

Primary aldosteronism (PA) is the most common cause of secondary hypertension. Although decline in renal function especially that experienced after adrenalectomy (ADX) has been demonstrated, details of the mechanism remain to be elucidated. Aim of the study was to investigate the factors predicting renal outcome after ADX in PA. Twenty patients with PA and four patients with non-functioning adrenal tumor (NFT) as control were studied. eGFR, serum potassium, plasma aldosterone ...

Background: It has been shown that hypothyroidism is associated with atherosclerosis. The presence of atherosclerosis process could be registered by use of some Doppler Ultrasound parameters (DUP) – intima-media complex thickness (IMCT) and systolic velocity (SV). In this study we present initial DUP on the lower limb artery in treatment-naïve hypothyroid females and the influence of thyroid hormone levels and some metabolic components.Methods ...

Introduction: The objective of this study was to investigate left atrial mechanical function (LAMF) and to associate these measurements with diastolic function in subclinical (SHT) and overt hypothyroidism (OHT).Methods: Twenty-six newly diagnosed patients with SHT (20F, 6M, mean age 42.2±12.5 years), 21 patients with OHT (17F, mean age 40.2±8.5 years) and 28 healthy volunteers (control group, 21F, 42.4±11.2 years) were enrolled in this st...

Physiological circulating concentrations of estrogens are very low in men and postmenopausal women (<50 pg/ml), which presenting analytical challenges. Immunoassays can detect as low as 30 pg/ml, but cross-reactivity is a concern. Liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS) offers greater specificity than immunoassays, but ionisation of estrogens is inefficient. Derivatisation, which introduces charged moieties, may enhance ionisation. Dansylated de...

Introduction: Primary hyperaldosteronism (PHA) and pheochromocytoma are endocrine causes of secondary arterial hypertension. The association of hyperaldosteronism and pheochromocytoma is rare and the involved mechanisms are poorly understood. Either there is coexistence of the two diseases (pheochromocytoma with PHA) or the pheochromocytoma stimulates the production of aldosterone.Case Report: Male, 54 years old, referred to our department for type 2 dia...