Endocrine Abstracts

Background: Medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC) is a neuroendocrine tumor derived from the parafollicular C-cells of the thyroid gland. Mutations in the gene encoding the Rearranged during Transfection (RET) tyrosine kinase, play a vital role in the development of MTCs. In patients with distant metastases, only targeted therapy can prolong survival. Tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) block tyrosine kinases such as RET and thereby inhibit tumor proliferation. However, it is diffic...

Objective: As a measure to reduce overtreatment, active surveillance (AS) for low-risk papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) has spread from Japan and gradually become accepted around the world. Older age is known to be a favorable factor for progression under AS; however, long-term evidence is still limited and lifelong monitoring is considered inevitable. The present study reviewed the results of AS from the 1990s and explored the possibility of completing follow-up.<p class...

Introduction: Thyroid eye disease (TED) is an immune-mediated disorder of the eye. Intravenous glucocorticoid (GC) is the first-line treatment for active moderate to severe TED patients. However, the rate of response is between 50 and 80%. Reliable and easily accessible markers of responsiveness to GC therapy are still lacking.Aim of the study: We aimed to explore the possible role of miR-146a and miR-21 as a predictor of responsiveness to GC treatment i...

Background: Normal pregnancy is a state of physiological oxidative stress (OS) with oxidants facilitating the implantation of the embryo and optimal decidualisation but counterbalanced by antioxidants. Pro-oxidant processes exceeding the anti-oxidants capacity result in imbalanced OS, which has been associated with the ‘’big four’’ obstetric complications: pre-term birth, intra-uterine growth retardation, pre-eclampsia and diabetes gravidarum. Important OS ...

Objectives: The thyroid hormone receptor α (TRα) is crucial for organ development, regulation of growth, heart rate and energy homeostasis. In humans, THRA encodes for the two major TRα isoforms, TRα1 and TRα2. TRα2 is generated by alternative splicing and is unable to bind T3 and thus antagonizes TRα1 signaling. Therefore, the physiological effects of TRα require strictly controlled spatiotemporal expression of TRα isoform...

Background: Resistance to thyroid hormone alpha (RTHα), caused by mutations in the T3-receptor alpha 1 (TRα1) isoform, includes growth retardation, intellectual disability, and abnormal thyroid function tests. The current paradigm entails that disease features arise from decreased T3 action in TRα1-expressing tissues. However, also for patients that carry mutations that completely abolish T3-stimulated activity, neurological features vary strongly, ranging from ...