Endocrine Abstracts

Purpose: Undercarboxylated-OCN (ucOCN), acting on the receptor GPRC6A, was shown to stimulate of testosterone (T) production in Leydig cells in rodents, in parallel with the hypothalamus/pituitary/gonadal axis mediated by luteinizing hormone (LH). Hence, reduced serum ucOCN and/or inactivating gene variants of GPRC6A, are supposed to affect testis function in humans. The aim of this study is to evaluate the association among serum ucOCN, rs2247911 GPRC6A gene polymorphism and ...

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is an endocrine and metabolic disorder affecting women of reproductive age. The main features of PCOS are hyperandrogenism and reproductive and metabolic dysfunctions. We have previously shown that muscle contractions induced by either electrical stimulations or exercise act through partially similar signaling pathways in the muscle to induce glucose uptake in the acute response. Long-term electrical stimulations decrease circulating testostero...

Introduction: According to the free hormone transport hypothesis, only free testosterone (FT) is considered biologically active. Due to low circulating levels and technical challenges of direct FT measurements, calculators have been developed to estimate FT from serum total T, sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) and albumin levels. However, genetic polymorphisms altering SHBG’s binding affinity or capacity might result in calculation imprecisions with consequent incorrect...

Introduction: Obesity is a worldwide pandemic, and in men can often be associated with hypogonadotropic hypogonadism (HH), a finding consistent with a clear link between sex steroids and reproduction. In this study, we aimed to characterize the phenotypic spectrum of male obesity, focusing on the metabolic and reproductive effect of weight loss after bariatric surgery, as well as to explore the role of central inflammation.Methods: We conducted an observ...

Background: Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) present sex specific characteristics, suggesting sex-hormones playing a role in the pathophysiology of CVDs. Hyperandrogenemia (HA) is a common condition in fertile age women but whether HA is a risk factor for CVD is still controversial.Aims: To clarify the association of HA with the development of hypertension and CVDs in women.Study population and methods: A general population-based birt...

Background: Many questions concerning Turner Syndrome (TS) remain unresolved, such as the long-term complications and, therefore, the optimal care setting for adults. Most controversials regard tumors. Very few data are available on thyroid carcinoma and no specific screening protocol of monitoring is advised in the current official guidelines. This long-term cohort study was primarily aimed at estimating the incidence and time to comorbid conditions along the life course, inc...

Background: Pubertal induction in girls with hypogonadism through estrogen replacement therapy (ERT) aims at mimicking physiological puberty. To date, the best induction regimen is still to be established.Aims: By setting up a multicentre clinical registry, we analysed longitudinal data on pubertal induction in girls with hypogonadotropic hypogonadism or premature ovarian insufficiency (congenital, acquired, isolated or associated with multiple pituitary...

Background: Combined oral contraceptives (COC) are known to have multiple beneficial effects besides contraception, but also cause some unwanted health outcomes. They interfere, for example, with metabolism, inflammation, hepatic protein synthesis and blood coagulation. COCs containing natural estrogens have recently been developed, yet little is known about their non-contraceptive effects compared to conventional COCs with ethinyl estradiol (EE). The aim of this study was to ...