Endocrine Abstracts

Background: It is widely demonstrated that obesity and hypogonadism are bi-directionally correlated, since the hypogonadism prevalence is higher in obese population, while weight loss increases testosterone serum levels. Several approaches are available to contrast weight excess, from simple dietary regimens to more complex surgical procedures. Ketogenic diets (KD) fit in this context and their application is growing year after year, aiming to improve the metabolic and weight ...

Introduction: The endothelium produces molecules regulating vascular function, such as nitric oxide (NO). NO protects blood vessels from endogenous injury and causes vasodilation through activation of second messengers. In diabetes mellitus (DM), hyperglycemia provokes oxidative stress, reduction of NO and increased synthesis of vasoconstrictors (e.g. endothelin). Cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterases (PDEs) are enzymes, controlling the rate of degradation of second messengers....

Introduction: Erectile dysfunction (ED) is common among elderly men and patients suffering from chronic diseases, the latter probably including also HIV infection. No studies, however, compared the prevalence of ED in HIV-infected and -uninfected individuals using the IIEF-15.Aim: To compare ED prevalence in young-middle aged men with and without HIV infection using the International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF-15) questionnaire.<p class="abstex...

Background: Exogenous follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) administration in male idiopathic infertility showed the most convincing rationale in the face of a clinical efficacy below expectations. It was calculated that 10 to 18 men have to be treated to achieve one pregnancy.Objectives: To assess the effectiveness of FSH administration in male idiopathic infertility in a clinical setting.Methods: A retrospective real-world study was...

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...

Introduction: Male sexual behaviour is deeply influenced by the endocrine system. However, few data are available on low cortisol serum levels and sexuality.Subjects and methods: In order to investigate the sexual function in 12 men before and during replacement treatment for Addison disease (AD), we performed sexual and psychological evaluations before replacement therapy (‘baseline’) and at least 8 weeks after complete recovery from cortisol ...

Background: Diabetes mellitus (DM) prevalence in patients with severe acute respiratory coronavirus virus (SARS-CoV-2) infection differs among studies, although pre-existing DM seems to double the risk of critical infection and mortality.Objectives: To evaluate incidence and mortality risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection in a large diabetic population in Northern Italy in pre-vaccine era.Methods: Retrospective, observational, big data stud...

Background: The predictive role of sperm motility and morphology was recently detected in a large sample of more than 20000 assisted reproductive technology (ART) fresh cycles. However, the complete ART procedure consisted in both fresh and frozen-embryos transfers and only a comprehensive evaluation of the entire process could really confirm if these parameters really predict the ART success.Aim of the study: To identify predictive parameters of ART suc...

Background: The penis has been compared to a barometer of endothelial health, being erectile dysfunction (ED) an early sign of endothelial dysfunction. The aim of the study was to investigate the association between ED and endothelial dysfunction in patients with HIV infection on ART.Methods: In this observational cross-sectional study we evaluated the prevalence and factors associated with ED in a cohort of 133 HIV-infected men. Evaluation tools include...

Introduction: Male hypogonadism is very frequent in men treated with highly active anti-retroviral therapy (HAART) for Human Immunodeficiency Virus-1 (HIV-1) infection, reaching a prevalence of about 20%. Literature data regarding the time course of serum total testosterone (T) levels in these patients are lacking.Aim of the study: To evaluate changes of T levels over time in HIV-positive men with an initial finding of low T (<300 ng/dl).<p class...