Endocrine Abstracts

Background: Insulin resistance as part of the metabolic syndrome is associated with ectopic lipid deposition. Growth hormone (GH) status also modulates ectopic lipid accumulation but how this associates with insulin resistance in patients with GH disorders is not well established.Aim: To study body composition, ectopic lipid deposition and insulin sensitivity in acromegaly and adult GH-deficiency before and after treatment.Subjects...

Background: Adult GHD results from insufficient growth hormone (GH) secretion from the anterior pituitary gland and may represent either a continuation of childhood-onset GHD or GHD acquired during adulthood. Clinically, adult GHD is associated with central adiposity, decreased lean muscle mass, increased fat mass, decreased bone mineral density, and reduced quality of life. Current standard of care consists of GH replacement via daily injections. Lonapegsomatropin (SKYTROFA; ...

Context: Assessment of disease control in acromegaly depends on GH and IGF-I, but discordant values frequently occur. Further, the role of OGTT-suppressed GH (GHnadir) in somatostatin analogue (SA) treated patients is debated.Objective: To evaluate the effect of targeting either IGF-I or GH during SA treatment.Design: A randomized, investigator-initiated, multicentre trial.Patients and methods: 84 ...

Background: Somatostatin analogue treatment (SA) is used in acromegaly to suppress GH secretion and tumour growth. In addition, SA also suppresses insulin secretion and may impact on GH signalling in peripheral tissues.Objective: To compare GH and insulin signalling in skeletal muscle and adipose tissue in vivo before and after a single exogenous GH bolus in patients with acromegaly controlled by either surgery alone or by ongoing treatment with a slow-r...

Introduction: Cushing’s syndrome (CS) results from prolonged glucocorticoid excess. Both iatrogenic and endogenous CS cause somatic and neuropsychiatric morbidity that do not fully reverse after biochemical disease control. However, the real-world socio-economic consequences for patients and their families are largely unknown.Aim: To determine the impact of CS on work status, income, education, marital status, parenthood, and depression before and ...

Purpose: Although quality of life (QoL) is improved in patients with acromegaly after disease control, QoL correlates only weakly with traditional biomarkers. Our objective is to investigate a potential relation between the new serum biomarker soluble Klotho (sKlotho), GH and insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) levels and QoL.Methods: In this prospective cohort study, we investigated 54 acromegaly patients biochemically well-controlled on combination tr...

Background: Craniopharyngioma may be associated with severe morbidity. Few data exist on incidence rate (IR) and possible changes with time. The epidemiology of craniopharyngioma in Denmark has never been evaluated in detail.Objectives: To review the literature on craniopharyngioma incidence and to study the epidemiology of craniopharyngioma in Denmark during a recent 20-year period.Material and methods: Publications including data...

Objective: The short-term cardiovascular effects of continuous ghrelin infusion in healthy humans remain to be studied.Methods: Fifteen healthy, young and normal-weight men volunteered to participate in a randomized double-blind, placebo-controlled cross-over study. The local ethics committee approved the study. We used a constant infusion of human ghrelin at a rate of 5 pmol/kg body weight per minute for 180 minutes and measured peak left ventricular my...

Background: Growth hormone deficiency (GHD) is a rare disorder characterized by pronounced and symptomatic hypo secretion of growth hormone (GH) from the anterior pituitary gland. Biochemical tests are used as part of the diagnosis in both children and adults but controversies remain as regards whom, when, and how to test, and also how to interpret a given biochemical test result.Aim: To map the current clinical practice of GHD diagnosing in children and...

Background: Long-term, low-dose prednisolone treatment (≤5mg/day) is associated with adrenal insufficiency in >33% of patients. Nevertheless, the clinical consequences of glucocorticoid-induced adrenal insufficiency in patients receiving ongoing low-dose glucocorticoid treatment are unknown. Current clinical guidelines do not recommend routine evaluation of adrenal function during low-dose glucocorticoid treatment, and patients are not routinely instructed to increase gl...