Endocrine Abstracts

Background: To date, there is no consensus as to the gold-standard screening test for diagnosing Cushing’s Syndrome (CS).Objectives: This study aimed to: a) compare the ability of late-night salivary cortisol (LNSC) against overnight dexamethasone suppression test (ONDT) and urinary free cortisol (UFC) as screening test for pathological hypercortisolism (PH); b) test the performance of those tests in diagnosing Cushing’s disease (CD) or mild au...

Background: Pituitary adenomas(PAs) comprise 10%–25% of all intracranial tumors, the majority of them being benign. But 35% of all PAs are considered invasive, having a higher recurrence rate than benign ones.Objectives: We analyzed the expression of different angiogenic growth factors and their receptors in PAs and identified correlations with the hormone profile that could explain their behavior and prognosis.Methods: Our st...

An initial multi-omics analysis of PitNETs has refined histological classifications, and could improve diagnostic and prognostic assessment (Neou, Cancer Cell 2020). Of all omics, transcriptome best discriminates between these different classes. This molecular classification has been built upon frozen samples, which are difficult to use in routine clinical practice.Aim: Demonstrate the feasibility of measuring the transcriptome in Formalin-Fixed Paraffin...

Introduction: Acromegaly is the most genetically determined pituitary disease.Objectives: We studied the prevalence of syndromic disease and germline mutations (AIP, MEN1, GNAS, PRKAR1A, CDKN1b) in a cohort of unselected, consecutive patients with acromegaly.Materials and methods: A total of 133 patients (79 females, 54 males, age range 16–75 years) with somatotroph pituitary neuroendocrine tumor who were studied at t...

Background: Cushing’s syndrome (CS) is associated with high morbidity and presents high interindividual variability. Easily measurable biomarkers, in addition to the hormone assays currently used for diagnosis, could better quantify the individual biological impact of glucocorticoids. The aim of this study is to identify such biomarkers through the analysis of whole blood transcriptome.Methods: Whole blood transcriptome was evaluated in 57 samples (...

Background: Acromegaly is associated with skeletal fragility and increased prevalence of vertebral fractures (VF). In recent years several authors tried to investigate predictor markers of bone fragility risk in this endocrine disorder. Two isoforms of GH receptor (GHR) have been described, which differ in the presence or absence of a transcript of exon 3 of the GHR gene. Both isoforms produce a functional receptor, but the exon 3-deleted isoforms (d3-GHR) have greater sensiti...

Introduction: Liver Steatosis (LS) can be one of the metabolic complications of Cushing Syndrome (CS). The data on the impact of cortisol on liver function are very limited, according to one study the prevalence of LS in CS is 20%. However, the frequency seems to be much higher. Hepatic Steatosis Index (HSI) predicts LS based on ALT, AST, BMI, sex and co-existence of diabetes mellitus/impaired glucose intolerance. It can identify candidates for further liver examinations.<...

Introduction: Folliculo-stellate cells (FSCs), non-endocrine star-like shaped population of cells located in the anterior pituitary, have very heterogenous function and phenotype. Located between the secretory cells, their first atributed role was connected to a supporting network. In literature, they were mentioned to be involved in the pathogenesis and evolution of pituitary neuroendocrine tumors (PitNETs).Objectives: Analyse FSCs characteristics and d...