Endocrine Abstracts

Acute lung injury (ALI) is characterized by endothelial and epithelial damage, followed by inflammatory. Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) is a gut-produced hormone with insulinotropic effects. GLP-1 receptor is expressed in the lung, and there implicated in the synthesis of surfactant proteins. We have previously shown that liraglutide (LIR), a GLP-1 receptor agonist, restores surfactant protein-B (SPB) levels, a limiting factor for survival, and also angiotensin converting enz...

Food restriction (FR) of mothers during the perinatal period, can lead to disorders in emotional behaviors at offspring. GLP-1 may play a role in the regulation of anxiety-like behavior in rodents. The aim of this study was to asses if Liraglutide (a GLP-1 receptor agonist; LIR) given to pregnant rats may prevent the deleterious effects of FR in the anxiety-like behavior in pups at 21 days and two months of age males.Twenty-five pregnant Sprague-Dawley r...

Background: Acromegaly is a severe systemic condition characterized by elevated circulating levels of growth hormone (GH) and insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) and increased mortality and morbidity. The role of GH and IGF-I in mammary hyperplasia is well established and GH/IGF-I elevation has been hypothesized to favor neoplastic development. We recently demonstrated that premenopausal females with active acromegaly may display an increased mammographic breast density (MBD)...

Introduction: Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) places patients at an increased risk of hypocalcemia due to the reduction in calcium absorption (because the procedure bypasses the duodenum and jejunum) and vitamin D deficiency. Subsequent thyroid surgery increases the risk of severe hypocalcemia due to potential post-operative hypoparathyroidism. Only a few cases have been published before of this kind of treatment-challenging hypocalcaemia.Case report: We...

Introduction: Diabetes mellitus is a condition on the increase, carrying a high risk of macro and microvascular disease. Previous studies suggest a link between microvascular and macrovascular complications in diabetes. However, just a few studies have investigated whether the presence of peripheral vascular disease (PVD) is associated with other macrovascular and microvascular complications in diabetes patients. So, this was the aim of our study.Patient...

Introduction: It is well known that diabetes confers a substantial burden of macrovascular disease. However, just a few studies have investigated the association between diabetic kidney disease (DKD) and cardiovascular disease. The purpose of this study is to investigate whether the presence of DKD is associated with macrovascular disease in diabetic patients.Patients and methods: 98 diabetic patients (48 males/50 females) were included in the study. DKD...

Background: Surgery is the main therapeutic option for advanced endometrial cancer; however, when disease relapses, chemotherapy is the only option. Chemoresistance is a very common phenomenon in these tumors. We previously demonstrated that GH protects breast cancer cells towards the cytotoxic effects of doxorubicin, inducing chemoresistance. Recent evidences show that endometrial cancer cells secrete GH, stimulating their own growth in an autocrine fashion.<p class="abst...

Hypothyroidism is a risk factor for obesity, central adiposity and ectopic fat accumulation. To assess whether this risk could be detected also in stable patients taking regularly the LT4 replacement therapy we assessed retrospectively the prevalence of metabolic syndrome (ATP III definition) and calculated the fatty liver index (FLI) and the visceral adiposity index (VAI) in patients attending our Outpatient Endocrinology Clinic because of known primary acquired hy...

Background: Interstitial deletions of the long arm of chromosome 1 are rare and classified as proximal or intermediate, the intermediate spanning bands 1q24–1q32. This region contains several genes, including LHX4, a LIM-homeodomain transcription factor essential in the early steps of pituitary ontogenesis. Indeed, mutations in the LHX4 gene are related to combined pituitary hormone deficiency type 4 (CPHD4, OMIM 602146).Aim: outline the impact of ...

Background: One of the main effects of growth hormone therapy (rhGH) in the adult GH deficient patient (AGHD) is to positively modify body composition, with a reduction in fat mass (BF) and an increase in total lean mass (LM). However, the response to replacement therapy is highly variable and, contrary to what described in children, the potential predictive factors are not yet known.Aim of the study: To assess the impact of basal IGF-I levels on variati...