Endocrine Abstracts

Objective: Studies in rodents indicate a role of vitamin D in male reproduction but the relationship between vitamin D and androgen levels in men is largely unexplored. We aimed to investigate the association of 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] levels with testosterone, FAI (free androgen index), and SHBG. Moreover, we examined whether androgen levels show a similar seasonal variation to 25(OH)D.Design: In this cross-sectional study, 25(OH)D, testosterone, ...

Background: There is increasing evidence that aldosterone exerts deleterious, blood pressure independent effects on cerebral blood vessels. We aimed to evaluate whether high aldosterone levels are related to fatal stroke.Methods: Serum aldosterone concentrations (SAC, pg/ml) were measured in 3073 Caucasian patients, who were routinely referred to coronary angiography. We calculated Cox proportional hazard ratios for death due to fatal stroke according to...

Background: The myocardium is a target tissue for vitamin D, that was shown to exert several effects on cardiac contractility and calcium homeostasis. We aimed to elucidate whether insufficient vitamin D status is associated with heart failure and sudden cardiac death (SCD).Methods and Results: We measured 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] in 3299 Caucasian patients that were all routinely referred to coronary angiography at baseline (1997–2000). 25(OH)...

Background: The renin-angiotensin-aldosterone-system (RAAS) is a major regulator of blood pressure, however, there are no studies available addressing its characterization in a large clinical setting. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to describe the relationship between parameters of the RAAS and actual blood pressure results in a large cohort of patients with and without essential hypertension.Methods: We investigated 3253 patients (ages 63.2...