Endocrine Abstracts

B Allolio, Department for Endocrinology and Diabetes, University of Wuerzburg, Wuerzburg, Germany AbstractBruno Allolio received his Bachelor of Physics Degree in 1974 and graduated in Medicine from the University of Cologne in 1975. He obtained his MD in 1977 and trained in General Medicine and Endocrinology at the University Hospital Cologne. He received basic science training under the auspices of John Landon at Ba...

Bruno Allolio, University of Würzberg, Germany AbstractBruno Allolio is Professor of Medicine at the University of Würzburg and Head of the Department of Endocrinology at the University Hospital Würzburg.He trained in Cologne in both clinical and experimental endocrinology. For postdoctoral studies he worked at Bartholomew's Hospital, London, and at the National Institutes of Heal...

Understanding of the molecular pathogenesis of adrenocortical neoplasias has been greatly advanced by exome sequencing demonstrating in Conn adenomas hot spot mutations in KCJN5, ATP1A1, ATP2B in a substantial subgroup of patients. Current work now demonstrates that constitutive activation of the cAMP – PKA pathway not only causes rare bilateral hyperplasias like PPNAD, but is also involved in a high percentage of cortisol producing adenomas. Intriguingly, this hot spot m...

The growing complexity of medical practice has increased the demand for well conceived guidelines. Such guidance is also urgently needed in endocrinology, but difficult, as well-conducted trials are scarce. As a first step towards the systematic development of ’Best Practice in European Endocrinology’ a guideline for diagnosis and treatment of hyponatremia was initiated.Hyponatremia is the most frequent electrolyte disorder and of prognostic si...

Adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC) is a heterogeneous neoplasm with an incompletely understood pathogenesis and an unsatisfactory prognosis. However, international initiatives like the European Network for the Study of Adrenal Tumours (ENSAT) and international trial consortia recently led to improved diagnosis and treatment. Activated signalling pathways primarily involved in adrenal development like IGF2, SF1, and β-catenin pathways play also a key role in the ACC developmen...

Adrenal tumours are among the most common human neoplasias and comprise a wide range of pathologies from benign non-secretory adenomas (leave-me-alone lesions) to life threatening adrenocortical cancer (ACC) requiring early detection and treatment. For the patient, the discovery of an adrenal mass inevitably raises the question whether the lesion is malignant. Current strategies to answer this question are based upon tumor size, imaging characteristics in CT or MRI and follow-...

Primary adrenal insufficiency was first described in 1855 by Thomas Addison, demonstrating that the adrenal cortex is essential for life. Life-saving glucocorticoid replacement became widely available only with the clinical introduction of cortisone in 1949. Chronic primary adrenal insufficiency (PAI) has a prevalence of 93–140 per million and its incidence is rising due to an increase in autoimmune adrenalitis. In developing countries tuberculosis is still a leading caus...

DHEA and its sulfate ester DHEAS are the major steroids secreted by the adrenal zona reticularis. DHEA exerts its action either indirectly in peripheral target tissues following its conversion to potent sex steroids or directly as a neurosteroid. Moreover, there is growing evidence of high affinity binding sites on endothelial cells and lymphocytes suggestive of the presence of a specific DHEA receptor. Studies in patients with adrenal insufficiency (AI) have elucidated the ro...

Background: The differential diagnosis of hyponatremia is often challenging because of its association with multiple underlying pathophysiological mechanisms, diseases and treatment options. Several algorithms are available in order to guide the diagnostic approach to hyponatremia, but their diagnostic and clinical utility has never been evaluated. We aimed to assess in detail the diagnostic utility as well the limitations of the existing approaches to hyponatremia.<p clas...

ACC is a rare, heterogeneous malignancy with poor prognosis. Data from the German ACC Registry (n=478) indicate a 5-year survival rate of 47%. In addition to mitotane, cytotoxic drugs are standard of care in advanced ACC. The best results have been reported by Berruti et al. for the combination of mitotane with etoposide, doxorubicin and cisplatin with an objective tumor response rate of 49% in 72 patients. A response rate of 36% was published for the combination...