Endocrine Abstracts

Introduction: Follicular thyroid carcinomas (FTC) are the second most common type of thyroid malignancy. Micro-RNAs (miRNAs) are a new class of small, noncoding RNAs whose expression is deregulated in many types of human cancers and may lend novel clues to FTC genesis. Pre-miR146a represents one of the most up-regulated miRNAs in papillary thyroid carcinomas (PTC) and a SNP (rs2910164), identified in pre-miR146a, contributes to genetic predisposition to PTC, but data on FTC ar...

Introduction: The mechanism underlying the development of follicular thyroid carcinoma (FTC), the second commonest thyroid tumor, is still unknown. An interesting hypothesis is that changes in the expression of multiple regulatory RNA (miR) genes may be a major mechanism in thyroid carcinogenesis. For example, several studies suggested that SNP rs2910164 in the pre-miR146a, a precursor of miR146a, might be correlated to papillary carcinoma. The aim of this study was the evalua...

We present a novel heterozygous compound inactivating mutation of the CYP19A1 (P450arom) gene in a 26-year-old 46-XY Caucasian Italian male leading to aromatase deficiency. The patient phenotype resembled those observed in the other estrogen-deficient patients: tall stature with continuing linear growth, bilateral genu valgum, unfused epiphyses and delayed bone age, osteopenia. A dysmetabolic syndrome characterized by overweight (BMI 29), hyperinsulinaemia, low serum HDL and i...

Context: Lipodystrophic HIV patients frequently display impaired pituitary GH response. Objective. To investigate the GH response to GHRH+Arg in women with HIV-related lipodystrophy (HARS) compared with healthy females. To identify possible predictive factors for such a GH response in these patients.Patients: Forty-nine female patients with HARS were compared with 10 healthy women matched for age and BMI.Methods: Patients and contr...

Subjects and methods: We performed nocturnal penile tumescence and rigidity monitoring (NPTRM) in order to study the effects of Tadalafil on sleep-related erections in 23 adult healthy men (age: 34.27±8.48 years). The subjects were randomly administered Tadalafil, 10 mg tablet, the 1st (N1) or the 2nd (N2) night (Group A and B respectively) of 3 consecutive nights of erections’ monitoring. In Group A the 3rd night monitoring was regarded as control (N-ctr); in Group ...

FAP is a dominant autosomic syndrome, due to mutation of the APC oncosuppressor gene, characterised by adenomatous polyps at the colon–rectal level, that progres to malignant degeneration. FAP extraintestinal manifestations include, although rare, the thyroid nodules and tumours. Neck ultrasound (US) is routinely useful to identify thyroid nodules, but the characterisation of their nature requires the cytology by a FNAb. The exact incidence of the thyroid tumours on FAP s...

Background: HIV-infected patients are predisposed to an increased risk of hyponatremia. In healthy population, low sodium is associated with impaired health status and reduced BMD, but less is known about this association in HIV-infection.Aim: To investigate the relationship between serum sodium, frailty and BMD in a large cohort of HIV-infected patients.Methodology: A retrospective, observational, cohort study on adult HIV-infecte...

Background: The use of prophylactic central neck dissection, especially for low-risk differentiated thyroid cancer, is still very variable from center to center. Obviously, central dissection does allow more complete staging of cancer, including identification of metastases not detectable on preoperative ultrasound. However, it could lead to higher risk of hypoparathyroidism. Above all, it is not entirely clear whether the identification of metastases of the central compartmen...

Introduction: Hypothyroidism treatment is classically based on levothyroxine (LT4). However, 10% of hypothyroid patients treated with LT4 complain of hypothyroidism symptoms, despite normal thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) serum levels. This ”peripheral hypothyroidism” has been linked to decreased availability of free triiodothyronine (fT3), likely related to single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) in deiodinase genes (DIO), reducing enzymatic activity. Since...

Background: Adherence to anti-osteoporotic therapy is fundamental to prevent harmful consequences including fragility fractures and, in the specific case of denosumab discontinuation, of rebound fractures. Coronavirus disease (Covid-19) lockdowns have impacted on management of osteoporosis, but data about adherence to denosumab and rebound fractures during the Covid-19 pandemic are still lacking. The use of telemedicine is increasingly widespread albeit supported by little evi...