Endocrine Abstracts

Case Summary: In May 2018, a 22-year-old man was admitted to the Emergency Room of Polyclinic Umberto I Hospital of Rome, because of progressive headaches and binocular diplopia. Brain MRI revealed a heterogeneous T1WI-hypointense and T2WI-hyperintense mass of 40x28x25 mm (CC, LL, AP) including calcification areas in the left paramedian region of the clivus invading the homolateral cavernous sinus. The patient underwent partial tumour resection via infratemporal approach and a...

Background: It has been reported that some Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) pituitary findings may reflect specific endocrinological alterations, as in the case of adult-onset growth hormone deficiency (GHD), which has already been associated with lower MRI-derived pituitary height and volume in pediatric patients.Purpose: The objective of this study was to investigate potential associations between pituitary morphology and signal intensity on MRI with G...

Background: Reduced growth hormone (GH) secretory capacity is common in patients with obesity and metabolic derangements. The prevalence of GH deficiency (GHD) in this population is difficult to establish. Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) pituitary findings may reflect specific endocrine alterations, as for GHD which is associated with lower pituitary height and volume (PV).Purpose: Our aim was to identify the pituitary morphological alterations predicti...

Introduction: Obesity is a chronic neurometabolic disorder with complex psychological aspects. Patients with obesity often suffer from eating disorders and altered body image perception and show increased plasma concentrations of oxytocin (OT).Objective and Design: This pilot study investigates the interplay between psychological factors, OT levels, and very-low-calorie ketogenic diet (VLCKD)-induced weight loss. We collected data from patients with over...

Introduction: Adult growth hormone (GH) deficiency has been associated with the onset of sarcopenic obesity, reduced bone mineral density, and the progression of metabolic syndrome, often accompanied by the accumulation of ectopic fat at the epicardial level and changes in echocardiographic measures.Objective and Design: This prospective pilot study aimed to assess the impact of recombinant human GH (rhGH) replacement therapy on glyco-metabolic parameter...

Background: Oxytocin (OXT) enhances glucose uptake and lipid utilization in adipose tissue and skeletal muscle.Dysfunction of the OXT system could underlie the pathogenesis of weight gain. Men and women with obesity were reported to have higher OXT blood levels compared to normal weight subjects. In contrast, metabolic syndrome has been associated with reduced fasting serum oxytocin in larger scale mixed gender studies.Aim: Data regarding the oxytocin sy...

Primary Ovarian Insufficiency (POI) is an ovarian defect characterized by the premature depletion of ovarian follicles before 40 years and represents one major cause of female infertility. POI is a heterogeneous disease but, despite its idiopathic origin in most of patients, there is a strong genetic evidence, in particular for X chromosome-linked defects. BMP15 gene maps to Xp11.2 within a Turner locus critical for ovarian function and mutations in this gene have been found i...

The pathogenesis of premature ovarian failure (POF) is largely unknown. However, the evidence of a frequent familiarity for the anticipation of menopause among POF women supports the concept of a strong genetic component at the origin of POF. This is further supported by the findings of several candidate genes and by data coming from natural and experimental animal models. On these bases, several groups are involved in the search for markers able to predict the risk of POF. Th...

Pregnancy is associated with changes in both size and function of the pituitary gland. Thus diagnosing pituitary dysfunction during pregnancy can be challenging. For women with a pre-existing adenoma, there is limited evidence regarding safety in pregnancy for medical therapies used to control hormonal excess. Management includes optimisation of hormonal function and close monitoring for signs of tumour progression. Most women can be managed conservati...

Rates of among women of reproductive age are rising such that 1 in 5 women in the UK are obese at antenatal booking. Female obesity is associated with reduced fertility including ovulatory dysfunction and increased time to pregnancy. Obese pregnancy is associated with increased pregnancy loss and stillbirth, and with increased risk of major pregnancy complications including gestational diabetes and preeclampsia. In addition there are short and long-term complications for the o...