Endocrine Abstracts

Data from the literature suggest that endogenous Cushing’s syndrome (CS) is an unusual disorder in the general population with a reported incidence of 2–3 cases per 1 million inhabitants per year. Patients who are not cured from CS have a poor prognosis with an increased mortality due to cardiovascular disease and significant morbidity that impairs quality of life. Recently published screening studies performed in obese patients with type 2 diabetes or patients with ...

Dopamine agonists (DA) are very effective and the first-line treatment for hyperprolactinemia. In prolactinoma, DA therapy is the treatment of choice. DA decrease prolactin levels, restore gonadal function, improve visual field defects and reduce tumor size. In some patients drug therapy can lead to a complete remission, including eradication of the tumor, and thereby allow discontinuation of treatment. The majority of the patients, however, have to be treated for many years. ...

Measuring circulating concentrations of GH and insulin-like growth factor (IGF1) is crucial to biochemically establish the diagnosis of GH-related disorders such as acromegaly and GH deficiency. Many commercial or in-house immunoassays are in use. Controlled studies and regular external quality assessment schemes document considerable disparities in GH and IGF1 concentrations reported when different assays are used. Among the reasons for the differences are the molecular heter...