Endocrine Abstracts

The Syrian hamster is a seasonal breeder that undergoes a testicular regression when exposed to a short day photoperiod (SD, 6 h light per day) for 16 weeks, and a subsequent gonadal reactivation after longer times of permanence in SD. In this study, we investigated the role of melatonin (Mel) and prolactin (PRL), key players in the recrudescence phase, on testicular cyclooxygenase 2 (COX2) expression and prostaglandins (PGs) production during the photoperiodic regression&#150...

Lymphocytic adenohypophysitis (LA) is a rare inflammatory disorder of the pituitary, probably auto-immune in origin, usually affecting young pregnant women. Clinical features resemble a pituitary adenoma but differing in the hierarchy of endocrine loss, preferentially destroying ACTH and TSH secreting cells. A useful diagnostic feature is pituitary enhancement with gadolinium on MRI.A 39-year old female, with treated hypothyroidism, was referred to endocrinology out-patien...

Introduction: Renal carcinomas (RCs) are the most common kidney cancers, and their prognosis is affected by many factors; 5-year survival rate is >90% in patients with small tumors confined to the kidney. RC makes up 2-3% of cancers in adults aged between 50 and 70 years; in particular, the incidence in men is higher than women, 66.7 vs 33.3% of the cases, respectively. Aim: RC incidence is twice as high in men as in women. This difference could sugg...

Papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) represents the majority of differentiated thyroid cancers, presenting in 29–83% of cases the activating BRAF V600E mutation. The aim of our study was to analyse the influence of BRAF V600E mutation analysis on diagnostic accuracy of fine needle aspiration biopsies (FNAB) in clinically unsuspected thyroid nodules. We therefore enrolled 496 patients (383 females, 113 males; mean age 52 years), for a total of 671 samples. FNAB were evaluated by...

Background: Sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 (SGLT2) inhibitors demonstrated beneficial effects on cardiovascular and renal events in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. The mechanisms underlying these effects are not fully elucidated. Aim of this study was to investigate whether empagliflozin is able to affect arterial stiffness/pulse wave velocity in type 2 diabetic patients.Methods: Pulse wave velocity and other parameters of arterial stiffness were...

Background: Erectile dysfunction (ED) represents the most frequent sexual dysfunction. Among several possible ED aetiologies, vascular ED (vED) presents the greatest implications for global individual health, resulting an early hallmark of cardiovascular diseases. Indeed, vED was demonstrated associated with a 1.25 times greater risk of developing major cardiovascular diseases. Alongside cardiovascular aspect, the evaluation of patients health, measured by the comorbidities nu...

Background: In 2014 a new Italian classification system of thyroid cytology divided the indeterminate TIR3 category in two groups, TIR3A and TIR3B, aiming to reduce unnecessary thyroidectomies. The reported risk of malignancy is: TIR3A: <10%, suggesting follow-up and possible FNA repetition after 6 months, and TIR3B: 15-30%, recommending surgery.Objectives: We aimed to: evaluate the histological prevalence of malignancy in TIR3A and TIR3B nodules in ...

Background: β-thalassemia is associated with increased iron overload in endocrine tissues, including parathyroid glands. The occurrence of unbalanced calcium (Ca)-phosphorous (P) metabolism, such as chronic HPT, is higher in these patients compared to the general population. However, data about prevalence and presentation of HPT in this setting are scanty.Aim: To explore the biochemical characteristics of Ca-P metabolism, particularly the prevalence...

Background: Erectile dysfunction (ED) is the most frequent sexual disorder. Although psychological ED (pED) is the most frequent form, vascular ED (vED) is associated with 1.25 times greater risk of developing major cardiovascular diseases. Alongside cardiovascular aspect, the evaluation of patients’ health, measured by the comorbidities number, in relation to the ED aetiology has never been investigated so far.Objectives: To explore the potential r...

Background: Iron overload disorders (IOD) are associated with a higher occurrence of unbalanced calcium (Ca)-phosphorous (P) metabolism, including hypoparathyroidism (HPT). However, data about prevalence and presentation of HPT in this setting are scanty. A Ca/P ratio <2.32 has been proposed to detect HPT in the general population.Aim: To characterize Ca-P homeostasis, particularly the prevalence of HPT, in a cohort of adult patients with IOD compare...