Endocrine Abstracts

Introduction: There is a great interest in the association of thyroid hormones and mood. Although it appears to be important interactions between the central regulation of mood and the thyroid axis, the effects of antidepressants and especially of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) remain ambiguous. We investigated the thyroid function in perimenopausal women suffering from depression.Material and methods: We examined 102 perimenopausal wome...

Objective: To identify factors influencing the development of osteoarthritis during long-term control of acromegaly, focusing on disease specific parameters, growth hormone (GH) and insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) concentrations and duration of disease, adjusted for the well-known determinants of primary osteoarthritis.Design: Follow-up study.Methods: We studied 67 patients, with adequate biochemical control of acromegaly for ...

Background: Untreated GH-deficiency (GHD) in adults has been suggested to be associated with an increased prevalence of type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM). Proposed causative factors are the tendency to overweight and the insulin resistance due to central adiposity.Patients and methods: The KIMS (Pfizer International Metabolic Database) was used to evaluate the prevalence of DM in both childhood-onset (CO; n=1977; 56% males) and in adult-onset (AO; ...

Objective: Our study evaluates the contribution of untreated GHD to the phenotype in controlled CD, by comparing patients with GHD due to CD (n=322) and those with non-functioning pituitary adenoma (NFPA n=748) before and after 3 years of GH treatment.Methods: The patient cohorts were obtained from KIMS (Pfizer International Metabolic Database) and matched for age and gender. Duration between pituitary disease onset and GH start was 9.7 (CD...

Objective: To evaluate cost-effectiveness of GH treatment (Genotropin) in adult patients with GHD by comparing health status and costs in patients who received GH treatment with those who did not.Methods: Direct costs included health care costs related to morbidity (stroke, cardiovascular events) and GH costs. Indirect costs were determined by sick-leave and mortality. A model (Markov-type) was constructed to simulate differences in morbidity and mortali...

Objectives: The fetus is dependent on maternal thyroid hormones during pregnancy and an adequate thyroid function during pregnancy is essential for the normal brain development. The effects of subclinical hypothyroidism during pregnancy are poorly known. The present study assesses the association between thyroid hormones and thyrotropin in healthy pregnant women from the general population, and the neurodevelopment of their children at the age of 14 months.<p class="abstex...

Clinical trials have demonstrated that pegvisomant therapy is highly efficacious, normalizing serum IGF-I levels in the majority of patients with acromegaly. Multiple factors could influence the dose of pegvisomant required to normalize IGF-I, that ranging from 10 to 40 mg/day. However, the determinants of this variability are unknown and, to date, there is no specific recommendation to adjust the dose to the type of patient. Lack of exon 3 of the Growth Hormone receptor (d3-G...

Objective: To evaluate the results of the early postoperative low-dose (1 μg) ACTH (adrenocorticotropin) stimulation test in patients with Cushing’s disease (CD) in order to predict long-term outcome of transsphenoidal surgery.Methods: We reviewed the serum cortisol response to 1 μg synthetic ACTH (1–24) in the second week after pituitary surgery in 40 patients with Cushing’s disease. Median follow-up was 48.5 months (range 6&#15...

Objective: To evaluate the impact of the genomic deletion of exon 3 in the growth hormone receptor (d3GHR) on co-morbidities of acromegaly in a well-characterized cohort of patients with long-term remission of acromegaly.Design: Cross sectional study.Methods: The presence of the d3GHR polymorphism was assessed in 86 acromegalic patients and related to clinical outcome, i.e. anthropometric parameters, osteoarthritis, and the metabol...

ITT is the test of reference for the diagnosis of adult GH deficiency (GHD), but it is recognized that also GHRH in combination with arginine (ARG) or GH secretagogues (GHS) are equally reliable tests. It has also been suggested that testing with GHS would represent a potent stimulus exploring also the integrity of hypothalamic pathways controlling somatotropic function. We therefore aimed to clarify the diagnostic reliability of testing with ghrelin, the natural GHS. We studi...

Spontaneous subarahnoid hemorrhage (SAH) is a recently identified risk factor for hipopituitarism, especially growth hormone (GH) and corticotroph deficiencies. The aim of this study is to perform the initial screening procedure to identify the patients with increased risk of neuroendocrine dysfunction after SAH in the chronic phase and to identify the possible predictor(s) for neuroendocrine dysfunction. Ninety-one patients (30 males, 61 females), age between 19 and 69 years ...

We present data on open reading frame 62 encoded on human chromosome 6 (C6orf62), a gene whose protein expression and function has not been described to date. The gene product of C6orf62 was designated pituitary associated regulator of hormone secretion (PARS).Initial gene expression screens showed that PARS transcription is differentially regulated in secreting and non-secreting pituitary adenomas, as well as in normal pituitary tissue. Inspired ...

Background: We previously reported on the efficacy, safety and Quality of Life of long-acting somatostatin analogs (SSA) and (twice) weekly pegvisomant (PEG-V) in acromegaly and improvement after the addition of PEG-V to long-acting SSA.Objective: To assess the long term safety in a larger group of acromegalic patients over a larger period of time; 29.2 (1.2–57.4) months (mean (range)).Design: Pegvisomant was added to SSA mono...

Introduction: Growth hormone (GH) is a lipolytic hormone with pleitropic metabolic functions. The effects of long-term GH substitution in pituitary insufficient patients with growth hormone deficiency (GHD) on lipid metabolism and bone mineralisation (BMD) have yet to be ascertained.Methods: We measured fasting total cholesterol, low density lipoprotein (LDL), high density lipoprotein (HDL), triglycerides, glucose and insulin concentrations in 52 GHD on ...

Several studies have pointed to a neural regulation of glucose dependent insulinotropic peptide (GIP) secretion. Bombesin is a neuropeptide found in the amphibian brain and gastrointestinal system – homologous to the C terminus of gastrin-releasing protein (GRP) in mammalians, which displays a wide range of metabolic actions.Aim: Aim of this study was to investigate the effect of intracerebroventicular infusion of bombesin in a centrally mediated re...

Our initial studies suggested that plurihormonal cells are constantly found in early embryonic stages of human pituitary but are very rare later.Aim: A quantitative evaluation and morphological characterization of these plurihormonal cells.Methods: Pituitaries from therapeutically aborted human fetuses of 8–24 weeks, gestational age were fixed (with ethical permission) by immersion in 4% buffered formaldehyde. One-μm-thic...

Combination of ovariectomy (OVX) and chronic restraint stress causes cognitive dysfunction and reduces hippocampal CA3 neurons in female rats and that estrogen replacement suppresses the OVX/stress-induced behavioral and morphological changes. Aim of this study is to exsamine the effect of Ginkgo biloba extract (EGb 761) on the cognitive dysfunction and neuromorphological change in OVX/stress-subjected rats. Female Fisher 344 rats were randomly divided into three groups...

Objective: The impact of first-line somatostatin analogues (SSA) on glucose tolerance in acromegaly was investigated during a 10 year period.Patients: One hundred and twelve patients treated with depot SSA.Outcome measures: Primary outcome measures were fasting glucose levels. Data were analyzed according with baseline glucose tolerance and disease control.Results after 12 months SSA treatment: In the 63 pati...

Objective: There is little data available regarding the effects of male sex hormones on cardiac autonomic function. The aim of this study is to evaluate the association between male sex steroids and cardiac autonomic function by comparing heart rate variability (HRV) parameters of young male hypogonadotropic hypogonadism patients to those of healthy controls.Design: The study consisted of 22 male hypogonadotropic hypogonadism patients (mean age 20.8&#177...

Background: Evidence from a Needs Analysis (2006) and Patient Satisfaction Survey (2008) for people with pituitary conditions, suggested infertility was a key yet unexpected problem for the majority of respondents. Being infertile without the co-morbidity of having a pituitary condition confers a huge emotional burden on the couple concerned. The aim of this study was to explore in detail the effects infertility imposed on people with a pituitary condition.<p class="abstex...

Cardiovascular diasease (CV) is the leading cause of mortality in acromegalic patients. Although acromegalic cardiomyopathy has been extensively investigated, there is a lack of data about atherosclerosis in acromegaly.We aimed to the evaluate the extent of carotid atherosclerosis with various CV biomarkers in acromegaly. Sixty-one acromegalic patients and 21 age and sex matched healthy controls were included. We measured carotid intima media thickness (...

Hypoxia inducible factor-1alpha (HIF-1α) is a transcription factor regulating expression of many genes related to oxygen homeostasis in response to hypoxic stress. RSUME is a sumoylation enhancer, which was recently cloned from a pituitary cell line with an increased tumorigenic and angiogenic potential. It has been shown that RSMUE is induced by hypoxia and enhances the sumoylation of HIF-1α. Although many studies demonstrated that the level of HIF-1α is remark...

Introduction: MicroRNAs (miRs) are 16–29 nucleotide long, non-coding RNA molecules that post-transcriptionally regulate gene expression via RNA interference. It has been shown that they participate in control of cell proliferation, cell differentiation, signal transduction, cell death and carcinogenesis.Aim: To examine the role of the miRs in sporadic pituitary tumourigenesis.Methods: Twenty-five sporadic pituitary adenoma spe...

Transthyretin (TTR) is a protein mainly synthesized by the liver and choroid plexus (CP) of the brain. Besides its role as a carrier for thyroid hormones, TTR also sequesters the amyloid beta (Aβ) peptide impairing its deposition in nervous tissues, and its concentrations in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) appear to be inversely correlated with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) onset and progression. Abundant evidence suggests that the depletion of progesterone (PROG) at menopa...

Background: Medical therapy with dopamine agonists (DA) is the primary treatment in most patients with prolactinomas. ‘Classical’ surgical indications are mainly intolerance of DA therapy or non-responders. Focusing on a possible shift of recent indications towards a surgical approach, we retrospectively analyzed the long-term results of surgical treatment and compared them to the medically treated female patients with prolactinomas.Patients an...

Background: In contrast to females with prolactinoma, male patients usually present with a history of long-standing hypogonadism and a macroadenoma on MRI-scan. Data is scarce about the effect of hypogonadism on bone health in these patients. We, therefore, investigated retrospectively the cohort of male patients with prolactinoma at our institution.Patients and methods: Between 1983 and 2007, the chards of 44 male patients with prolactinoma were reviewe...

Objective: Somatostatin analogues (SSA) are widely used for the treatment of patients with neuroendocrine tumors. These drugs are able to influence glucose metabolism by an inhibitory effect of insulin secretion, but the clinical impact of this effect is uncertain. Most of the data on this topic have been obtained from studies including patients in acromegaly, one the major indication for SSA, which are limited in terms of numerosity and study duration. Therefore, we have carr...

Elevated macroprolactin level is one of the reason of misdiagnosis and mismanagement of hyperprolactinamia. About 10% of population have incidentalomas and it also can combine with increasing of prolactin (Prl).Three hundred and thirty patients with hyperprolactinemia (Prl>600 mU/l) were studied: 192 women and 138 men in age of 30 (25; 39) and 35 (29;46) years respectively. Clinical, biochemical and MRI methods were used. Prl, LH, FSH and Testosteron...

Objective: Prospective study of medical treatment effect in newly diagnosed patients with large and giant prolactinomas.Patients and methods: The study group included 45 patients with large prolactinomas (tumors more 3,6 cm) and 23 patients with giant prolactinomas (tumors more than 6 cm); from them 8 mainly cystic tumors. The treatment period was 3–24 month (mean 6). Serum prolactin level before treatment ranged between 12 990 and 1 038 000 mU/l (m...

Objective: Mutations in the gene encoding the thyroid hormone transport protein, monocarboxylate transporter 8 (MCT8), underlie severe mental retardation. In vitro expression of mutant transporters was performed to understand phenotypical differences.Methods: We established cell lines stably expressing 16 MCT8 variants in JEG1 and MDCK cells. Several of these mutants have never been analysed before. The cell lines were characterized according to M...

Radiation therapy is used in the treatment of pituitary adenomas, especially in failures of neurosurgery and pharmacotherapy to reduce the size of adenomas and normalize their hypersecretion. Conventional fractionated radiotherapy has achieved good results, but only after a long latency, with considerable postradiation morbidity and with very frequent appearance of hypopituitarism. The focal stereotactic targeting allowed by Leksell gamma-knife (LGK) was supposed to decrease t...

HPA is negatively regulated by glucocorticoid feed-back at hypothalamic, pituitary and hippocampal level by glucocorticoid (GR) and mineralcorticoid (MR) receptors. MR antagonists impair HPA rhythm after acute administration. The aim of this study was to verify HPA activity and glico-insulinemic profile both basally and after acute administration of potassium canrenoate (CAN), before and after chronic treatment. We evaluated ACTH, cortisol (F) and dehydroepiandosterone (DHEA) ...

Objective: To analyze characteristics of patients who had surgery for a GH-secreting adenoma in the past decade in our centre, to evaluate their initial outcome and long-term recurrence rate using stringent criteria and identify potential predictive factors of surgical remission.Methods: This retrospective study included 115 consecutive patients with acromegaly operated at the neurosurgical department of the Timone Hospital Marseille between 1997 and 200...

The dampening of hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis responses to a repeated stress is termed HPA habituation. We investigated here the effects of two commonly used repeated restraint stress paradigms, in which rats are exposed either to 10 episodes of 0.5 h restraint or 5 episodes of 3 h restraint. We compared ACTH, corticosterone, and testosterone responses, as well as corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) and arginine vasopressin (AVP) mRNA levels within bra...

Introduction: Hot flashes and night sweating are the most common medical complaints in women during the menopausal transition and they are strongly associated with the presence of perimenopausal depression. The pathophysiology of hot flashes has not been elucidated. Peripheral vasodilation and increase in skin temperature observed in women with hot flashes might be induced by changes in brain neurotransmitters and instability in the hypothalamic thermoregulatory center due to ...

Objective: To assess the association between empty sella (ES) and primary autoimmune hypothyroidism, and the possibility of a common pathogenesis.Patients and methods: We retrospectively studied all patients with presumed ES diagnosed in the last 20 years, most of whom were treated and followed up by our Endocrinology Department. Subjects with a known aetiology were excluded. Incomplete records or those with a doubtful diagnosis were also excluded. A tot...

Objective: The corticotropin releasing hormone (CRH) test does not reliably distinguish between Cushing’s disease (CD) and normality or pseudo-Cushing state (PC). In this study we assessed whether the application of novel criteria could enhance its diagnostic performance.Design: Retrospective study.Patients: Fifty-one subjects with CD, 26 with PC and 31 control subjects (CT).Measurements: All subjects un...

Introduction: Chronic endogenous hypercortisolism is characterized by abdominal obesity, systemic arterial hypertension, glucose and lipid abnormalities, insulin resistance, osteoporosis. This syndrome also has features of hypercoagulation. The mortality rate in patients with active Cushing’s disease (CD) is four times higher than in age- and sex- matched population. The main cause is cardiovascular disease with thrombotic complications.Objective: T...

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...

Two adipokines highly expressed in fat mass, adiponectin with antiinflammatory and antiatherogenic properties, and visfatin with an insulin-mimetic effect, are potential contributors to bone metabolism. In acromegaly data on adiponectin are contradictory and there are no data on visfatin.Objectives: To evaluate adiponectin and visfatin in acromegaly, compared to control subjects and to analyze their relationship with body composition and bone mineral mar...

Adrenal insufficiency can result in severe hyponatremia due to inappropriate high plasma vasopressin (pAVP). To elucidate the glucocorticoid AVP feedback we monitored thirsting of 12 male volunteers without and after on or five days of prednisolone (30 mg/d). Although prednisolone suppressed pAVP below 0.2 pg/ml the rise in plasma osmolality during thirsting was not influenced by prednisolone. Independent of exogenous glucocorticoid thirsting resulted in higher urine osmolalit...

Background: Aberrant cAMP signalling is involved in the pathogenesis of somatotropinomas. Recently, variants of phosphodiesterase type 11A (PDE11A) gene have been described in patients with adrenocortical tumors. Aim of the study was to investigate the presence of these variants in patients with somatotropinomas.Subjects and methods: Germ-line DNA of 78 acromegalic patients was screened for known genetic variants of PDE11A by direct sequencing or restric...

Previous studies suggest that individuals characterized by high trait hostility may be more sensitive to stress and that this may contribute to their greater vulnerability to alcohol abuse. To characterize the stress reactivity of hostile individuals and to evaluate the possibility that serotonergic dysfunction may underlie their susceptibility to stress, we examined the effects of acute dietary tryptophan enhancement and stress on mood and physiological reactivity in low (LoH...

Background: GH response to oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) is currently used for the definition of disease remission in acromegaly. This test has been poorly investigated in other pituitary diseases.Aim: To evaluate the impact of a pituitary disease other than acromegaly on GH response to OGTT.Patients and methods: Eighteen patients (13 F & 5 M, age: 50.7±13.1 years) with different pituitary diseases (i.e. non-functioni...

Quality of life is impaired in patients who have suffered Cushing’s syndrome (CS).Aim: Evaluate QoL with the new questionnaire CushingQoL in Spanish patients in a clinical practice setting and compare it with a generic QoL questionnaire, EuroQoL-5 Dimensions (5D) and its Visual Analogue Scale (VAS).Patients and methods: Forty-three patients with CS (38 pituitary-dependent, 28 cured) were approached during their regular endocri...

GH replacement is widely used in adults with hypopituitarism, but its effect on tumor occurrence and pituitary tumor recurrence is unknown. Furthermore, in literature there are scant with short follow-up time. The available data do not seem to suggest that rhGH replacement increased the incidence of regrowth of pituitary tumor and of cancer in adults with GHD, provided that IGF-1 concentrations remain within the normal range for age.The aim of our study ...

Growth hormone deficiency (GHD) impairs bone mass and strength. Androgen deficient men exhibit impaired bone mass, but the extent to which testosterone replacement can prevent this remains disputable. The aim of this study was to assess whether androgen deficiency presents an additional risk factor for bone health in male patients with GHD and whether this is correctable by testosterone substitution.A group of 81 male patients with GHD, not receiving GH ...

The role of ghrelin in the pathogenesis of acromegaly is doubtful. Ghrelin also regulates glucose and adipose tissue metabolism. It has not been demonstrated whether it contributes to the development of metabolic complications of acromegaly.Aim: The aim of the study was to assess: (1) whether serum concentrations of total and acyl ghrelin in patients with acromegaly differ in relation to coexisting metabolic complications (hypercholesterolemia, hyperinsu...

Glucose metabolism alterations are frequently observed in acromegalic patients. Somatostatin analogues (SSTA) are the most widely used drugs to treat acromegaly, since they inhibit GH and IGF-1 levels, reduce pituitary mass, but can affect glucose metabolism. Aim of our study was to evaluate glucose metabolism alterations in acromegalic patients cured after surgery and in patients with active disease during treatment with SSTA. We studied 10 patients (group A, 5F, 55.66±1...

Objective: To report a case of Cushing’s syndrome due to ectopic ACTH secretion and to evaluate role of somatostatin analogues for the localization and postoperative treatment of adrenocorticotropin-secreting bronchial carcinoid tumor.Methods: We describe the clinical presentation of our case and discuss its management.Results: A 57-year-old woman presented with symptoms and physical findings strongly suggestive of Cushing syn...

Acromegalic patients under treatment with Octreotide LAR (Oct), 10, 20 or 30 mg were switched to Lanreotide Autogel 120 mg (Lan) at different dose intervals: 56, 42 and 28 days respectively. Just before the fourth Lan injection, IGF-I values were measured and the dose interval for the final three injections adjusted accordingly: if IGF-I values were between 1 and 2 standard deviations (S.D.) above the age and sex related mean value, no change in dose-interval wa...

Objective: To investigate long-term effects of GH replacement therapy.Material and methods: Thirty-nine patients (mean age 52.5 years, 14 women) with adult-onset growth hormone deficiency (AOGHD), recruited from a randomized placebo-controlled crossover study of treatment with growth hormone (GH) and placebo for 9months each, were enrolled in an open prospective follow up study. GH replacement was given for additional thirty-three months and was individu...

Introduction: HIV-infected patients often display a moderate to severe GH deficiency (GHD). To investigate the effects of r-hGH on hormonal parameters and body composition in patients with HIV-related lipodystrophy (HIV-r-L) and concomitant GHD, we studied 60 patients with HIV-r-L, 28 male and 32 females aged 18–65 years. According to their response to GHRH+Arginine (GH peak assumed to be normal when >7.5 ng/ml) patients were assigned to the following 3 groups: Group ...

Chronic central administration of KiSS-1 peptide to immature female rats induces pubertal maturation, characterized by advanced vaginal opening, increased uterine and ovarian weights, elevated levels of luteinizing hormone (LH) and estrogen. There is evidence that the pineal gland may be also involved in puberty onset because melatonin secretion declines near puberty. We have investigated whether there is an interaction between kisspeptin and melatonin in timing of puberty ons...

Central diabetes insipidus (CDI) is a common complication after transsphenoidal treatment for tumors of the sellar region and may exhibit different patterns: transient, permanent or triphasic.The aim of our study was to determine the incidence and course of the CDI and to characterize the factors associated with resolution of this disease.The incidence of CDI was based on records of 318 patients who underwent transsphenoidal surger...

The arcuate nucleus of the hypothalamus (ARH) is localized within lateral walls of the third ventricle above the median eminence. From the functional point of view ARH takes part in the regulation of food intake, energy expenditure and body weight. The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of food deprivation on ultrastructural alterations of the rough endoplasmic reticulum (RER)/Golgi network in the arcuate neurons of young rats. There have been no reports descri...

Anorexia nervosa (AN) and obesity are prevalent in modern societies.This study evaluate circulating levels of Neuropeptide Y (NPY) and of Peptide Tyrosine-Tyrosine (PYY) in 60 women: 20 affected by AN (Body Mass Index=BMI 15.74±2.09 kg/m2, age 30.19±10.52 years), 10 restricter (BMI 14.89±1.64 kg/m2) and 10 binge-purge subtype (BMI 18.27±0.81 kg/m2); 20 affected by severe Obesity (BMI>...

Introduction: Pituitary conditions are rare and diagnosis may be slow because symptoms are ambiguous. The treatment may be a combination of surgery, radiotherapy and medication so patients see many healthcare professionals (HCPs). This survey sought to assess patient satisfaction with the information and support they receive from GPs, endocrinologists, neurosurgeons, radiotherapists, specialist nurses, and other agencies (e.g. the pituitary foundation).M...

A 14 year-old Turkish boy sought advice for growth retardation. Pituitary insufficiency with GH, TSH, ACTH and gonadotrophin defect was diagnosed and treated. He was born from a consanguineous family and was married at 24. Three years later he consulted wishing to father a child. He was treated with levothyroxine 150 μg, hGH 0,5 mg/day, hydrocortisone 20 mg/day and was switched from testosterone enantate to hCG+FSH. Azoospermia was initially found and oligospermia after t...

Objective: Acromegaly is associated with an increased prevalence of colonic polyps. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of colonic polyps in acromegalic subjects, and also whether there is a relationship between insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1), growth hormon (GH), fasting insulin plasma levels and the presence of polyps.Material and methods: Fifty-four consecutive acromegalic patients and 45 IBS patients were enrolled to study betwe...

Background: Transsphenoidal adenomectomy is the first choice of therapy, but about 50% of patients are not cured and require medical treatment and/or radiotherapy. We retrospectively analyzed the data on surgery, sandostatin analog therapy, radiotherapy and the combination of them.Materials-methods: The records of the 96 female and 70 male, totally 166 acromegalic patients who had been followed in Ankara University, Endocrinology and Metabolic Diseases D...

Background/objectives: The aim of the study was to assess hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS).Design and methods: Twenty-three consecutive patients who fulfilled centers for disease control (CDC) criteria for CFS and twenty healthy controls were included in the study. Low dose ACTH test (1mcg of synthetic adrenocorticotropic hormone Synacthen) and insulin tolerance test (ITT) were done and b...

Previous studies have shown exaggerated ACTH and cortisol responses to ghrelin. Seven patients who were cured by transsphenoidal operation from CD were included in the study and tested with ghrelin (1 mcg/kg i.v.) before and six months after the operation. Their results were compared with eight healthy control subjects. Results are presented as mean±S.D. Mann–Whitney and Wilcoxon signed rank test were used for statistical analysis.<p class="abstext...

Although it is becoming increasingly clear that testosterone exerts an inhibitory influence on stress-induced adrenocorticotropin (ACTH) and corticosterone release, where and how this occurs in the brain remains poorly understood. We previously determined that androgen receptors are not distributed within anterior pituitary communicating neurons of the paraventricular nucleus (PVN) of the hypothalamus (Bingham et al. J Comp Neurol 2006). However, they are contained with...

Objective: The rule of GH and IGF1 in the pathogenic of CFS is unclear. One study (related articles number 2) found no difference in IFG1 levels between controls and patients. However in fibromyalgia there are reports of subgroups of patients with a low IGF1 and normal to high GH. This phenomenon is also known with anorexia nervosa patients due to the malnutrition.Method: We selected a group of ambulatory CFS patients fulfilling the Fukuda criteria with ...

Background: Hyperprolactinemia is the most common endocrine disorder of the hypothalamic–pituitary axis. We have not any documented data about frequency of various etiologies of hyperprolactinemia in our region. For determination of the pattern of presentation and distribution of causes of hyperprolactinemia the presenting study were designed and conducted.Methods and materials: In a descriptive study, we extract medical records of patient presented...

We present a 27 year-old female patient suffering from multiple sclerosis (MS) since 3 years ago. She currently consults for menstrual disturbances. She has not any neurological secuelae of MS now and she is not on medical treatment. She is with amenorrhea since 10 months ago, but she had been oligomenorrhea just before for 24 months. She doesn’t have any symptoms suspicious for other hormonal impairment. Physical examination is normal.The laborator...

Pathophysiological mechanisms of endocrine diseases (and diabetes mellitus type 2 (DM2) among them) impacts person’s health perception and health related behavior as measured by the health related quality of life.Aim: To compare peculiarities of health related quality of life in patients with DM2 and other endocrine diseases under hospital treatment.Methods: Of 60 patients with DM2 and 71 patients with other endocrine diseases...

The patient who was operated because of pituitary macroadenoma causing acromegaly disease had insufficient suppression respond of growth hormone to postoperative oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT). OCT LAR treatment had been started. On the 15.month of the therapy, the patient presented with failure of menstruation since four months, so pregnancy test was performed and pregnancy was diagnosed. The patient had used OCT LAR during the period without knowing that she was pregnant...

We enrolled 30 acromegalics from 2005.4 to 2007.7 at endocrine outpatient clinic of four academic hospitals. Male to female ratio was equal (15/15). Unsuppressed GH confirmed 28 out of 30 patients with oral glucose tolerance test. Average serum GH level was 28.7 ng/ml, and average IGF-I, 985 ng/ml. Micro- to macroadenoma was 8/22 (26%). Before treatment, 28 out of 30 acromegalics were taken 100 μg of somatostatin suppression test, complete responder (GH was suppressed bel...

Objective: Acromegaly is associated with increased morbidity and mortality, mostly due to cardiovascular complications. Thrombin-activatable fibrinolysis inhibitor (TAFI) is associated with coagulation/fibrinolysis and inflammation. Plasma TAFI may participate in arterial thrombosis in cardiovascular diseases (CVD). In this study, we aimed to evaluate the levels of TAFI antigen and also its relationship with other markers in a group of patients with acromegaly in compoa...

PRL hypersecretion is the most common endocrine abnormality due to hypothalamic–pituitary disorders. PRL is the hormone most commonly secreted in excess by pituitary adenomas. Patients usually present with oligo-amenorrhea, galactorrhea, loss of libido, impotence and infertility. If the tumor extends outside of the sella, visual deficit or other mass effects may be seen.A retrospective study was performed during the period 1999–2008. The diagno...

Background: Acromegaly is a relatively uncommon disorder (40–68 cases per million population) caused by oversecretion of growth hormone by a tumor of the pituitary gland. Excessive growth hormone (GH) and insulin-like growth factor (IGF) I concentrations cause gradual changes in facial and acral appearances as well as in many internal tissues.Medhods: Medical records of patients with acromegaly seen between 2000 and 2008 at our hospital were reviewe...

Background: Among the disorders causing hyperthyroidism thyrotropin-secreting pituitary adenomas (TSH-omas) are extremely rare and account for <2% of all pituitary adenomas. Failure to recognize a TSH-oma may lead to improper therapy attempts and dramatic consequences. We have reported a patient that wrongly had diagnosed and treated as primary hyperthyroidism for fifteen years.Case: A 50 years old woman who was on the treatment of propilhyourasil (1...