Endocrine Abstracts

: Pancreatic neuroendocrine tumours (pNETs) are rare neoplasms arising from the endocrine pancreas. The fist line treatment is surgery that is often not curative in the presence of metastatic disease. Therefore, there is an increasing need for medical therapy. Sunitinib is a multi-target receptor tyrosine-kinase (RTK) inhibitor, described as having as main target VEGF receptor, with antitumor and antiangiogenic effects, approved for pNETs medical treatment. This study is aimed...

Finding new preclinical models to study the effects of anticancer drugs is one of the aims of biomedical research. Indeed, testing different in vitro systems can lead to a better understanding of the molecular pathways regulating tumor development and growth, and help to find new therapeutic approaches. This is crucial especially in the settings of pancreatic neuroendocrine tumours (pNET), where one of the main drugs approved for medical treatment is Sunitinib, a mult...

Background: Hypercalcaemia due to primary hyperparathyroidism is a rare cause of acute pancreatitis, with a reported prevalence of 1.5–8%.Clinical case: A 25-year-old male patient was referred to the Endocrinology outpatient clinic for hypercalcemia diagnosed in the context of acute pancreatitis. He had medical and surgical pathological antecedents of: clavicle fracture after car accident, cholecystectomy and appendectomy, gastroesophageal reflux di...

Introduction: Multiple endocrine neoplasia (MEN) syndromes are rare entities characterized by the occurrence of tumors involving two or more endocrine glands in a single patient. These syndromes are classified as type 1 or 2 according to specific phenotypic characteristics. MEN2 encompasses three different subtypes: MEN2A, MEN2B and familial medullary thyroid carcinoma. More recently a syndrome related to mutations in the CDKN1B gene has been described – the syndrome of m...

Hirata syndrome is a rare cause of spontaneous hypoglycaemia, more prevalent in Japanese population, very infrequent in Caucasian patients. It has been described that it can be triggered by medication with sulfhydryl compounds or α-lipoic acid. A 73-year-old male patient was sent to the Endocrinology Division in December 2015 because he had been presenting with episodes of sweating, palpitations and feeling hungry for 6 months; these symptoms improved when he ate carbohyd...

Insulin resistance is defined as the incapacity of insulin to increase glucose uptake by peripheral tissues (skeletal muscle and adipose tissue principally). This phenomenon is present in different animal models for PCOS by prenatal exposure to androgens. In the PCOS condition, the metabolic pathway of insulin activity is defective in skeletal muscle and adipocyte whereas the activation of steroidogenesis is maintained. The decreased insulin stimulated glucose uptake is due to...

Aim: Multidisciplinary approach is mandatory in the management of endocrine tumors. Herein, we summarize the healthcare activity performed during the last 6 years at the multidisciplinary committee for endocrine tumors of a tertiary and University Hospital.Methods: A search of clinical-care activity of the endocrine tumors committee of our hospital from 2011 to 2016 was performed. Clinical and demographic data of all patients were recorded. The committee...

Introduction: Turner syndrome is one of the most common human chromosomopathy and represents an important cause of short stature and ovarian insufficiency. It is caused by total or partial loss of X-chromosome and its prevalence is about 1 in 2000–2500 live female births.Objectives: To review the patients with TS followed in a Paediatric Endocrinology Unit since 1999.Methods: A retrospective study regarding diagnosis, course, ...

Introduction: Cushing’s Syndrome secondary to inhaled or topic corticosteroids is very rare, although there are reports of a link to cytochrome inhibitors. Ritonavir, a protease inhibitor used for treatment in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, is a potent inhibitor of cytochrome P450 3A4.The case: A 41 years old man - with personal history of asthma, HIV infection diagnosed in 2002 and hepatitis C infection since 1999 – was sent to ...

Introduction: Hypopituitarism is a clinical syndrome of deficiency in growth hormone (GHD) production, which can occur isolated or associated with others pituitary defects. GHD has an incidence of 1:4000 to 1:10 000. It may be idiopathic, congenital or acquired.Purpose: Characterize the paediatric population with GHD followed at the Paediatric Endocrinology Unit of our centre and compare the clinical presentation and treatment response of the patients wi...