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Endocrine Abstracts (2015) 37 EP64 | DOI: 10.1530/endoabs.37.EP64

1Endocrinology/Medicine Departments, Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Raras (CIBER-ER, Unidad 747), Hospital Sant Pau, IIB-Sant Pau, ISCIII and Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain; 2Endocrinology Department, Hospital Universitari Mútua de Terrassa, Terrassa, Spain; 3Escola Universitària d’Infermeria, Hospital de Sant Pau, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), Barcelona, Spain; 4Internal Medicine Department, Hospital Sant Pau, Barcelona, Spain.


Introduction: Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is a protein that has been linked to several cardiovascular risk factors and bone status. Stress and corticosteroid exposure can affect BDNF levels, although this has never been studied in Cushing’s syndrome (CS). The aims of this study were to establish if BDNF levels were reduced in CS and to check possible associations to cardiovascular risk factors and bone status.

Methods: 52 patients (18 active CS and 34 in remission) and 52 controls matched for sex and age were studied. Blood tests (including biochemistry, cortisol, and BDNF), anthropometry, complete clinical examination and a whole body DEXA were performed. Statistical analysis was performed using ANOVA with Bonferroni correction and Pearson correlations.

Results: BDNF was reduced in both active and in remission CS patients, compared to controls (P<0.001 and P<0.05). Both patient groups had higher waist (P<0.01 and P<0.05) and diastolic blood pressure (P<0.001 both), while CS in remission also showed higher systolic blood pressure (P<0.01) and triglycerides (P<0.01) than controls. Correlations including the whole sample showed that BDNF positively correlated with bone mineral content (r=0.285, P<0.01), meaning that reduced BDNF indicated less bone mineral content. BDNF also negatively correlated to diastolic blood pressure (r=−0.210, P<0.05).

Conclusion: BDNF is reduced in CS patients, even after cure. It may contribute to persistent comorbidities seen in CS patients, such as osteoporosis and hypertension. Supported by FIS080302 and ERCUSYN PHP800200.

Disclosure: This work was supported by the Instituto de Salud Carlos III (grant number FIS 080302) and the Public Health Progam of the European Comission (ERCUSYN project, grant number PHP 800200).

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