Endocrine Abstracts

Introduction: Intrauterine weeks 36–38 with rapid transplacental mineral transfer are crucial for skeletal development. Prematurity and low birthweight may therefore lead to a subnormal peak bone mass. We evaluated the influence of gestational age and low birthweight on bone mineral density (BMD) and content (BMC) in young adults born preterm with very low birthweight (VLBW) and small for gestational age (SGA) at term.Description of methods/design: ...

Parathyroid glands regulate bone metabolism through PTH, while bone modulates parathyroid function through calcium and FGF23. Bone releases the matrix protein osteocalcin (OC), whose hormone function is increasingly evident. We tested the hypothesis that OC may modulate parathyroid function. The 6 hours-stimulation of human parathyroid cells derived from adenomas (PAds) (n = 5) with γ-carboxylated OC (GlaOC; 40–60 ng/ml) increased the expression levels ...

Increasing evidence has recently accumulated suggesting that IGF1 system is involved in the regulation of longevity. While in animal models alterations of IGF1 signalling increase life expectancy, in humans there are contradictory data. Centenarians are an extraordinary model to study human longevity, however, they present a number of drawbacks: rarity, frailty due to extreme age and lack of a control group of the same age. The availability of an age-matched control group is c...

Gliomas constitute the most frequent type of brain tumors and are characterized by a rapid growth and high diffusion through the brain. In particular, astrocytomas are a subtype of malignant gliomas that are graded from low to high aggressiveness (i.e. grade I, II, III and IV), being grade IV (glioblastoma multiforme, GBM) the most malignant type, and one of the most common cancers in the brain and CNS. To date, surgery is the first-line therapy combined with chemotherapy or r...

Antidiabetic biguanides, such as metformin (the most commonly prescribed drug to treat type 2 diabetes) and phenformin, are synthetic insulin-sensitizing agents. In addition to their well-known anti-hyperglycemic actions, biguanides are being also studied in other medical disorders due to the beneficial effects that they exert in important pathologies, including cardiovascular disease or different types of cancer. Although some scattered studies have suggested that metformin c...

Parathyroid glands regulate bone metabolism through PTH, while bone modulates parathyroid function through calcium and FGF23. We tested the hypothesis that the matrix protein osteocalcin (OC), secreted by osteoblasts, may modulate parathyroid function. In human parathyroid cells derived from adenomas (PAds), incubation with g-carboxylated OC (GlaOC) or undercarboxylated OC (GluOC) modulated the intracellular signaling pathways: both GlaOC and GluOC inhibited the basal phosphor...

In the healthy liver, GH signals through multiple pathways to modulate hepatic function, with JAK2/STAT5b required to maintain circulating IGF1 levels. It has been previously reported that mice with developmental knockout of hepatocyte GHR, JAK2 or STAT5 develop steatosis associated with glucose intolerance, systemic insulin resistance and white adipose tissue (WAT) lipolysis. These changes are thought to be secondary to increased circulating GH, due to loss of IGF1 negative f...

Background: Patients with transfusion-dependent β -thalassemia (TDT) often experience several endocrine complications, including diabetes mellitus (DM). In TDT, the reliability of glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) assessment is compromised due to elevated erythrocytes turnover and frequent transfusions. Glycated Albumin (GA), a product of non-enzymatic albumin glycation, has been investigated as a medium-term glycaemic marker (21 days) in the general diabetic population. Since...

Introduction: Ectopic Cushing’s syndrome (ECS) is a rare disease with limited and error-prone published data on the epidemiology, clinical presentation and diagnosis of ECS.Objectives: This study aims to examine the clinical course of patients with ECS in relation to the primary tumor localization.Methods: Thirty-five consecutive ECS patients at a tertiary clinical center were analyzed. The clinical, biochemical (including CRH...

High-grade astrocytomas (HGAs) remain the most prevalent and malignant brain tumor based on its locally aggressive behavior, being glioblastoma (grade-IV astrocytoma) the most lethal. The current standard treatment for glioblastomas consists of surgery followed by radiotherapy and/or chemotherapy. However, the average period of survival is about 14 months after the first intervention. Therefore, there is a clear clinical need for the identification of novel diagnostic, prognos...