Endocrine Abstracts

Primary hyperparathyroidism is characterized by abnormal PTH secretion from one or more hyperfunctioning parathyroids and hypercalcemia. PTH exerts a catabolic effect on the cortical bone resulting in the osteitis fibrosa cystica. Two patients were referred to us after destroyed surgery for brown tumors mistaken for primitive bone tumors.A 59 years old man was referred to emergency department for a pathologic fracture of the left hip. The X-ray showed a ...

RFamides are a family of peptides containing arginine-phenylalanine-amide at their C terminus. A novel 43-amino acid RFamide, named QRFP43, and a shorter endogenous peptide 26RFa, were discovered and identified as ligands of the G protein-coupled receptor GPR103. Different studies have shown that RFamides, such as neuropeptide FF and QRFP43 and 26RFa, play a role in food intake, thermogenesis and energy homeostasis. Here, we investigated the effects of QRFP peptides on surviva...

There is now clear evidence that diverse corticotropic factors released by chromaffin cells, by nerve fibers innervating the adrenal cortex, by cells of the immune system and/or by the endothelium are involved in the local control of adrenocortical cell activity. The adrenal gland of lower vertebrates, notably amphibians, in which cortical and chromaffin cells are closely entangled, is a very suitable model to investigate the paracrine regulation of adrenocortical cells. The e...

Aim: To develop a cost-effective instrument to evaluate the preoperative malignancy risk of thyroid nodules (TNs).Patients&Methods: A meta-analysis of the clinical (C) and ultrasonographic (U) features associated with an increased risk of malignancy was conducted searching in the PubMed database. For each of them we computed the odds ratio and we consequently assigned a score. The resulted C+U score along with the 5-tiered score of fine-needle aspira...