Endocrine Abstracts

Hypoparathyroidism is a disorder of mineral homoeostasis due to parathyroid hormone (PTH) deficiency. Conventional treatment with oral Ca and calcitriol may maintain serum Ca levels but does not replace other physiologic PTH effects. RACE is an ongoing open-label study of recombinant human PTH1-84 (rhPTH1-84) for hypoparathyroidism treatment in adults (ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01297309). Patients initially received rhPTH1-84 25 or 50 μg/day subcutaneously, with 25-μg in...

Apolipoprotein (Apo)-B is a strong predictor of coronary risk in the general population. Whether it contributes to coronary disease in patients with reduced kidney function is unclear. We examined the prevalence and relationship of Apo-B with physician-diagnosed myocardial infarction among 7,404 adults age >20 years with reduced glomerular filtration rate (GFR) in the U.S. population. GFR was estimated Modification of Diet in Renal Disease Study (MDRD) equation and calibra...

Orexin-A (OR-A) and orexin-B (OR-B) play an important role in the regulation of energy balance and the control of sleep-wake cycle. They act via G-protein coupled receptors, namely orexin receptor-1 (OX1R) and orexin receptor-2 (OX2R). OX2R has equal affinity for both OR-A and OR-B, whilst OX1R has a 10-fold greater affinity for OR-A. Orexin-mediated functions have been extensively explored, however, the intracellular signalling pathways remain poorly understood. Using HEK-293...

The human pubertal development is a very complex biological process that can be influenced by multiple factors including the genetic ones. A growing list of genes has been implicated in the pathogenesis of the congenital isolated hypogonadotropin hypogonadism (IHH) pointing to the complexity of the genetic basis of this condition. These genes encode peptides, which are involved in the development and migration of GnRH neurons or in regulation of synthesis, secretion and action...

Graves’s disease is the most common type of autoimmune hyperthyroidism. Numerous studies indicate different factors contributing to the onset of the disease. Despite years of research, the exact pathomechanism of Graves’ disease still remains unresolved, especially in the context of immune response. B cells can play a dual role in autoimmune reactions, on the one hand, as a source of autoantibody mainly targeted in the thyroid hormone receptor (TSHR) and, on the othe...

Some hematologic malignancies might increase the risk of fractures due to intrinsic factors of the disease but also because of the treatment with steroids or chemotherapy. The direct impact of novel targeted agents on the development of osteoporosis in these patients has not been recognized yet. A 64-years old female patient with B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia (B-CLL) has been followed for four years with no other comorbidities. In order to measure the burden of the disea...

Background: Recent studies have suggested extensive associations between plasma levels of vitamin D and hepatobiliary diseases including viral hepatitis B or C. In hepatitis C, vitamin D deficiency may lead to a poor prognosis and a poor response to antiviral treatment. CHB has different pathophysiology. There has been no study on the association of vitamin D level and the ALT level in CHB patients, and it is not known whether vitamin D levels are associated with host response...

Objectives: In Graves’ disease (GD) and Graves’ orbitopathy (GO) self-reactive lymphocytes escape immune tolerance, although the underlying mechanisms are not fully understood. We aimed to characterize the immune signatures of target tissue-resident lymphocytes in relation to GD and GO.Methods: Lymphocytes were derived from blood and ultrasound-guided-fine-needle aspiration (US-FNA) of thyroid and neck lymph nodes (LNs) of the following patient...

The simultaneous occurrence of MTC and extrathyroidal B large cell NHL are very rare. MTC may be sporadic or part of a MEN and NHL is not reported in association with MEN. A woman of 76 year old with a history of cholelithiasis and hepatitis B, is admitted for left abdominal pain. On examination it is detected inguinal, axillary and clavicular lymphadenopathy, splenomegaly and also a multinodular thyroid disease. The thyroid function was normal, antithyroid antibodies were neg...

Hyponatraemia is a very common electrolyte abnormality with varied presenting features depending on the underlying cause. The authors report the case of a 75 years old, previously fit, gentleman who presented with weight loss, lethargy, and blackouts. He was admitted to the hospital repeatedly under the general physicians over an 8 month period.Investigations revealed persistent hyponatraemia (serum sodium 113–120 mmol/l, serum osmolality 258 mOsm/k...