Endocrine Abstracts

Surgery is the only effective therapy for insulinoma patients, therefore there is a necessity to develop diagnostic strategies in cases of unknown tumour location, possibly through the use of new biomarkers. 99mTc labelled glucagon-like peptide 1 analogue (99mTc-GLP1) scintigraphy has been developed in our centre as an imaging technique of insulinoma. Labelled GLP1 analogue might also be applied in diagnosis of various forms of nesidioblastosis allowing t...

In humans, the exchange of nutrients and waste between mother and fetus occurs via the outer layer of the placenta (syncytium; ST); this layer is maintained by continuous growth and differentiation of underlying cytotrophoblasts (CT). Pregnancy complications such as intrauterine growth restriction are associated with abnormal CT proliferation and apoptosis; altered levels of maternal insulin-like growth factors (IGFs) have also been reported in these conditions. We have demons...

Introduction: Glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI) anchored proteins are common on the surfaces of eukaryotic cells. An example is alkaline phosphatase. Fluorescently Labelled Aerolysin (FLAER) is a bacterial toxin produced by the gram-negative bacterium Aeromonas hydrophila that binds naturally to GPI anchored proteins and utilizes them as receptors to cause cytotoxicity. FLAER has been used to discriminate the GPI deficient red blood cells in cases of paroxysmal nocturn...

Introduction: Extended-release (ER) metformin has been available in many countries for the last two decades, and it may have definite advantages vs. conventional (i.e., immediate-release) metformin: Reportedly, it may reduce gastrointestinal adverse effects by about half, thus increasing compliance; moreover, the once-a-day schedule may contribute to increased adherence and persistence, and hopefully improved outcomes. However, ER metformin was unavailable in Spain until 2022:...

Context: Weight loss and metformin therapy are beneficial in improving the hormonal and metabolic consequences of PCOS. Rimonabant has been found to reduce weight and improve the metabolic profile in patients with metabolic syndrome.Objective: To compare the effects of metformin and rimonabant on insulin resistance and biochemical hyperandrogenemia.Subjects: Twenty patients with PCOS and biochemical hyperandrogenemia were recruited...

Introduction: The management of patients with neuroendocrine neoplasms (NEN) has been revolutionised since the introduction of radiolabelled somatostatin analogues targeting overexpressed somatostatin receptors (SSTR). Accurate assessment of SSTR status of primary focus/metastases is crucial to determine the choice of the treatment method. Recently it has been shown that novel molecular probes, SST2-antagonists, recognize more binding sites in comparison to the wide...

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is one of the most common endocrine diseases in women, affecting up to 10% of women in reproductive age. The evidence of polycystic ovaries at ultrasonography has been recently considered as a further criteria to diagnose PCOS. In order to determine whether FSH receptor gene affects hormonal and/or metabolic parameters of PCOS women the presence of FSH receptor gene mutations was investigated. Forthy women aged between 18 and 40 years with poly...

Steroidogenic cells of the adrenal cortex are thought to originate from a peripherally-located self-renewing population of undifferentiated stem or progenitor cells. These cells divide infrequently to give daughters, which proliferate transiently (termed transiently amplifying (TA) cells), migrate and differentiate to replenish the functionally-differentiated zones of the adrenal cortex, or remain in situ as undifferentiated stem cells. Theoretically such stem cells can...

Men with suppressed gonadotrophins, as induced by androgen-based contraceptive treatment, exhibit a 70% reduction in germ cell numbers (1). The mechanisms by which the germ cell populations are decreased are unknown. This study aimed to quantify the amount of germ cell apoptosis and proliferation and to identify the pathway(s) involved in gonadotrophin-induced germ cell loss in men. Testicular tissues from normal fertile men that received no treatment or testosterone (200 mg i...

Radiopharmaceuticals labelled with the positron emitter Gallium-68 have had an enormous impact on the diagnostic imaging of neuroendocrine tumors using somatostatin receptor ligands and in recent years on the diagnosis of prostate cancer using PSMA ligands and subsequently their application for radioendotherapy using Yttrium-90, Lutetium-177 or more recently Actinium-225. The release of the monographs for ‘Gallium-68 chloride solution for radiolabelling’ and ‘Ga...