Endocrine Abstracts

Autoimmune Thyroid Disease (ATD) is associated with normal thyroid function (type 1) in most cases with variable incidence of functional evolution toward either hypo (type2, A or B if present or not goiter) or hyperthyroidism (type3).To study the evolution of thyroid function in a longitudinal study, along a scale of six years, in relationship to thyroid volume, 128 subjects (80 females and 48 males), aged from 28 to 78 years, were considered, with the f...

Pheocromocytoma is a catecholamine-secreting tumor that arises from chromaffin cells of the adrenal medulla. In general, they are unilateral and the treatment of choise is complete surgical resection. Surgery and other medical procedures such as chemotherapy or radiotherapy may result in massive catecholamine release that can be fatal. Some form of preoperative pharmacologic preparation is indicated for all patients to control blood pressure, arrhytmia and promote intravascula...

Prolactin is mainly found in the monomeric form although it can also occur in the big-PRL and bigbigPRL (bbPRL) form: a complex of prolactin and immunoglobulin G. The latter has reduced bioactivity despite maintaining its imunorreactivity. This can cause false positive results representing the main cause of interassay variability in prolactin measurement. It should therefore be considered in every study concerning hyperprolactinemia. We aimed to evaluate the prevalence of bbPR...

Thiazolidinediones have demonstrated some efficacy in promoting radioiodine uptake of previously poorly radioiodine-responsive thyroid cancers. We describe the effect of rosiglitazone, in promoting uptake in thyroid metastatic tissue with weak uptake in order to treatment with radioiodine in two patients.Case 1: A 62-year-old woman with thyroid cancer and negative I-131 body scan post therapy (150 mCi) with presence of recurrent disease (PET positive in ...

Objective: The pathogenesis of pituitary tumours is still incompletely understood. Somatotropinomas occur both sporadically and in the context of familial syndromes, such as multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1 (MEN1), Carney complex (CNC) and isolated familial somatotropinoma (IFS). Recently, germline mutations were reported in AIP (aryl hydrocarbon receptor interacting protein) gene in Finish and Italian families and in Finish patients with apparently sporadic pituitar...

Background: Correlation between therapy with interferons, thyroid autoimmunity and dysfunction is widely reported. Currently we used two different pegilated-interferons (α-2a, α-2b).Aim: Evaluate a probable different behaviour of two PEG-IFN responsible of thyroid abnormalities.Patients and methods: We observed 236 consecutive naïve-patients with HCV-related chronic-disease undergoing a treatment with antiviral thera...

Introduction: Thyrotropin-producing adenomas (TSH-omas) constitute about 1% of pituitary adenomas. TSH-omas are a rare cause of hyperthyroidism. In conjunction with biochemical parameters and dynamic endocrine testing, image evaluation of the pituitary gland and sella turcica is mandatory for establishing a correct diagnosis. TSH-omas are usually large tumors and tend to be invasive. Greater amounts of invasion correlate with incomplete surgical removal of the tumor and, thus,...

Introduction: Just-glomerular tumours (reninomas) are rare causes of secondary hypertension (HT). They typically present with difficult to manage-HT, hypokalemia, hyperreninemia and secondary hyperaldosteronism. They are usually small lesions (<1 cm) and are more common in adolescents or young adults. Despite being rare, they should be considered in the diagnostic approach of secondary HT, as it they are a potentially curable cause.Case report: Femal...

Introduction: The TNM classification of the American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) and the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC) is the most widely used thyroid cancer staging system. The 8th edition was published in 2016 and introduced modifications to the N0 classification. Histological analysis is no longer necessary for patients to be classified as N0, as long as there is no evidence of lymph node (LN) metastasis in the preoperative imaging tests or clinical eva...

Introduction: Multiple endocrine neoplasia type 2A syndrome (MEN 2A) is caused by a germline mutation in the RET proto-oncogene and its phenotype includes medullary thyroid cancer, pheochromocytoma and primary hyperparathyroidism (PHPT). Parathyroid reimplantation in the sternocleidomastoid muscle or in the brachioradial muscle can be performed in case of intraoperative lesion of the parathyroid glands. In some cases, PHPT may occur due to the proliferation of autotransplanted...