Endocrine Abstracts

Objective: The response of the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal axis to stress is mediated mainly through corticotrophin-releasing hormone and vasopressin. Accordingly, vasopressin levels are increased in septic shock. However, measurement of vasopressin is difficult because of its instability and short half-life. Copeptin is a more stable peptide derived from the same precursor molecule. This study aims to evaluate copeptin levels and its prognostic value in a prospective observ...

Introduction: We present the outcome for the first 80 patients undergoing neuronavigation–guided, endoscopic transphenoidal surgery in our centre since August 2001. All operations were undertaken by the same neurosurgeon and endoscopic nasal surgeon.Indications for treatment: Indications for treatment may be divided into: Functioning microadenomas, with the aim of surgical cure while protecting residual pituitary function. Functioning macroadenomas,...

Long acting somatostatin analogs (SSTa) induce both GH/IGF-I reduction and pituitary tumor volume shrinkage in the majority of acromegalic patients. It is not known if SSTa might also definitively cure the acromegalic disease in at least some patients. Aim of the present study was to evaluate this possibility in acromegalic patients very well responsive to chronic treatment. Thirteen acromegalic patients (4M&9F), 5 newly diagnosed and 8 previously operated but none irradia...

The primary aim of this study, the largest European, single evaluation, observational trial to date, was to evaluate the impact of acromegaly on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in patients with biochemically documented active disease, receiving Sandostatin® LAR® at a dose prescribed by their physician for at least 3 months. Secondary objectives were to investigate the relationships between HRQoL and subpopulations based on exploratory var...

Objective: Local tumor recurrence is common in adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC) and the most frequent cause for re-operation. Therefore, a concept for an adjuvant treatment is urgently needed. The role of radiotherapy in ACC has not been well defined and many authors have considered radiotherapy as ineffective. However, two studies with a small number of patients (n=3 and n=4, resp.) have suggested adjuvant radiation as an effective treatment to prevent recurrence ...

Phaeochromocytomas (PCC) are rare neuroendocrine tumours of chromaffin cells that are characterised by autonomous production of catecholamines. Fundamental to the detection and diagnosis is the biochemical confirmation of excessive catecholamine production by the measurement of plasma or urinary catecholamines and metanephrines. Recently, plasma metanephrines have been shown to provide a high diagnostic sensitivity for the detection of catecholamine secreting tumours and unlik...

Midgut Carcinoid disease (MGC) is uncommon, occurring in approximately 1.4 per 100,000 of the population per year. MGC has an unpredictable disease progression varying from rapid and aggressive to slow and indolent. For this reason it is not appropriate to treat all patients according to the same schedule. As some treatments are not without risk, it is important to identify those patients selected for these options at an appropriate stage of disease.In a...

Introduction: Aging men with low testosterone concentration may be at increased risk for cardiovascular disease. In some studies, but not all, low serum testosterone concentration has been associated with an atherogenic serum lipid profile.Methods: Year 2000 all the men aged 40–70 years (N=28,622) in the city of Turku, Finland, received a questionnaire on andropausal symptoms. Those men who reported high andropausal symptoms were tested for s...