Endocrine Abstracts

The development of a reliable and rapid method to simultaneously measure serum steroids represents a compelling challenge for modern endocrinology. Immunoassays are very sensitive methods, being widely employed in automated routine laboratories, lacking, however, in specificity due to cross-reactivity and matrix interference. Gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS) constitutes the reference method for quantitative analysis of steroids, but time-consuming sample pre-t...

Background: Steroid profiling by mass spectrometry (MS) provided novel insights into the pathogenesis of adrenocortical tumors and hypercortisolism. The aims of the study were (I) to analyze the steroid profiling by liquid chromatography-tandem MS (LC-MS/MS) in a large cohort of patients with adrenal incidentalomas and (II) to investigate the relationship between steroid profile and clinical outcomes.Methods: We included 307 patients with mono- and bilat...

Introduction: Cardiovascular morbidity is more prevalent in primary aldosteronism (PA) than in essential hypertension. Preclinical studies have shown a possible association between ascending aorta dilatation and PA, probably mediated by the mineralocorticoid receptor.Patients and methods: A total of 84 patients attending the Endocrinology Unit of the S. Orsola-Malpighi University Hospital of Bologna, (Italy) were evaluated. Thirty-nine patients had a dia...

Background: Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) have become a clinically validated treatment for numerous types of tumor including melanoma, lung, and kidney carcinoma. These treatments can cause immune-related adverse events affecting several organs including the endocrine system.Aims: The aim of this study was to characterize the type and the onset of the ICI associated-endocrinopathies.Materials and methods: This retrospective co...

Introduction: Clinical and laboratory hyperandrogenisms indistinctly contribute to PCOS diagnosis; however, they differ in hormonal and metabolic correlates and require proper therapeutic strategies. Circulating biomarkers of hirsutism were not identified so far, with elevated testosterone being observed only in half of hirsute patients. Reasons for such inconsistencies possibly relies in previously used immunoassays, nowadays recognized as not adequate because of poor reliabi...

Background: Many questions concerning polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) remain unsolved, such as the long-term evolution of cardiovascular (CV) risk markers and the risk for CV events.Methods: A total of 119 PCOS patients diagnosed in 2009 by NIH criteria at our Unit were evaluated at baseline for cardiovascular risk markers (hypertension, diabetes mellitus-DM, dyslipidaemia, obesity, carotid intima media thickness-cIMT, and epicardial fat thickness-EFT) ...

Introduction: Liver function test abnormalities (LFA) are common in patients with Turner syndrome (TS). The etiopathogenesis of this complication remains unclear, probably being multifaceted. Metabolic syndrome, generalized vasculopathy, and autoimmunity have been proposed as possible causal mechanisms.Objectives: - To describe the prevalence and possible related factors of morpho-functional liver abnormalities in TS adult patients. - To evaluate the uti...

Context: Autonomous cortisol secretion (ACS) has been associated with a higher prevalence of osteoporosis and fragility fractures in several studies. However, the data rely on heterogeneous studies and criteria for osteoporosis screening in this population are still debated.Objective: To assess the prevalence of fragility fractures and contributing factors in a large cohort of patients with adrenal incidentalomas.Methods: We review...

Background and aim: The relationship between sarcopenia and overt cortisol excess as in Cushing’s syndrome is well-known. However, only a few studies investigated the relationship between autonomous cortisol secretion (ACS) in adrenal incidentalomas and skeletal muscle mass. The aims of our study were to analyze the skeletal muscle mass in patients with adrenal incidentalomas and to investigate the correlations with hormonal data.Methods: We enrolle...

Background: Very low-calorie ketogenic diet (VLCKD) was shown to be effective in reducing weight and insulin resistance (IR) in obese patients. Considering that IR is very common in women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), and that IR worsens hyperandrogenism, ovulatory disfunction, and body fat accumulation, conceivably VLCKD could alleviate PCOS manifestations in the obese phenotype.Objective: This study compared the effects of a commercial VLCKD (...