Endocrine Abstracts

Growth hormone deficiency (GHD) has become increasingly recognized as a cause of metabolic syndrome, characterized by altered body composition and adverse cardiovascular risk. The effects of other pituitary hormone deficiencies or their replacement therapies on the metabolic profile in this clinical setting are still largely unclear. In this study, we aimed to evaluating the effects of replacement therapies of central hypoadrenalism and hypothyroidism on body composition in a ...

Over the last years, there has been evidence that acromegaly may cause skeletal fragility with high risk of vertebral fractures. The diagnostic approach to this complication is still a matter of uncertainty, since DXA measurement of bone mineral density (BMD) does not provide reliable information on fracture risk in acromegaly. The cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) technique offers three-dimensional images for the radiographed area with the advantage to use non-dedicated eq...

Introduction: Literature has already described some cases of hypophysitis related to acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-Cov2). The pituitary is indeed target for the virus due to the angiotensin-converting-enzyme-2 expression. Hypophysitis patients present with mass effect and pituitary dysfunction related symptoms. ACTH and TSH deficiencies are the most reported, along with central diabetes insipidus (CDI). The best way to manage these hypophysitis is still undefi...

Introduction: Somatotropinomas are benign pituitary tumors with heterogeneous biological and clinical behavior. The tumor microenvironment (TME) is an environment generated by the interaction between tumor cells and the host immune system. It affects both the behavior of the tumor and the outcome of the therapy. The GNAS gene encodes the alpha subunit of G proteins associated with hormone receptors such as TSH, PTH, GHRH, FSH/lH, ACTH. Mutation of this gene has been associated...

Somatotropinomas are benign pituitary tumors, with a heterogenous biological and clinical behavior. Tumor microenvironment reflects the interaction between tumor cells and the host immune system and may regulate tumor behavior and therapy outcome. We develop a scoring system that includes clinical, pathological and immune markers to early identify fg-SRLs resistant acromegaly pts. 43 acromegaly pts were included according the following criteria (1) first line treatment with su...

Acromegaly is associated with skeletal fragility and an increased prevalence of vertebral fractures (VF). In recent years several authors have tried to investigate the markers that can predict the risk of bone fragility in this endocrine disorder. Two different isoforms of the GH receptor (GHR) have been described so far, which differ in the presence or absence of a transcript of exon 3 of the GHR gene. Both isoforms produce a functional receptor, but the exon 3-deleted isofor...

Acromegaly is associated with skeletal fragility and high risk of vertebral fractures (VFs), but the determinants of such a risk are still under investigation and it is not clear whether replacement therapies of coexistent hypopituitarism may influence prevalence and incidence of VFs. In this cross sectional study, fourty acromegaly patients (24 M, 16 F; median age, 57 years; range, 25–72), 20 with active disease, were evaluated for the effects of replacement therapy of c...

Background and objective: Atypical pituitary adenomas (APA), in 2004, were defined according to WHO classification, as those with Ki-67>3%, excessive p53 expression and increased mitotic activity and invasive behaviour. The real usefulness of this classification is still controversial, so we reviewed compared clinical and prognostic features in our typical and atypical pituitary adenomas.Patients and methods: We retrospectively reviewed 343 consecuti...

Introduction: The main goal in the treatment of acromegaly is achieving biochemical and tumor mass control. Therapeutic options include surgery, medical treatment and, in selected cases, radiotherapy. A GH receptor (GHR) variant that differs for the genomic retention or exclusion (d3GHR) of exon 3 is present in about 50% of general population and its presence is related to a greater sensitivity to GH.Materials and methods: We describe a series of 118 pat...

Myelolipomas are rare benign tumours resulting from myeloid and adipose mature cells proliferation, both elements have a clonal origin from a common precursor. Myelolipomas predominantly involve the adrenal gland but may develop in extra-adrenal sites. They are hormonally inactive but may coexist with active diseases such as adrenogenital syndrome. They are often asymptomatic but rarely they cause symptoms due to their size or spontaneous retroperitoneal haemorrhage. The myelo...