Endocrine Abstracts

Appropriate hydrocortisone adjustment by the patient himself in situations of increased demand, e.g. in gastrointestinal or febrile infections, is indispensable to prevent adrenal crises (AC). Previous studies revealed a lack of knowledge concerning self-management in patients with AI. A comprehensive patient education is one of the key measures to avoid life-threatening AC. In November 2014, a working group of the adrenal section in the German Endocrine Society (DGE) met to d...

Case: A 40-year-old woman presented in 04/2015 with pain in the upper abdomen and a history of paroxysmal tachycardia. Plasma normetanephrines were highly elevated. Imaging revealed a large retroperitoneal tumor (15×12×8 cm), which could be completely resected after pre-treatment with urapidil. Histology confirmed diagnosis of a paraganglioma. Genetic diagnostics detected a previously unknown mutation in intron 2 of the SDHB-gene (c.200+5G>C). Six month after ini...

Introduction: Adrenal crises are potentially life-threatening complications in patients with adrenal insufficiency (AI). Our objective was to investigate the frequency of adrenal crises in patients with different forms of AI in the Techniker Krankenkasse (TK), one of the largest German Health Insurance providers, covering more than 12% of the German population.Design: The Statutory Health Insurance (SHI) database of the TK was analysed for diagnostic cod...

Introduction: Adrenal crisis is a potentially life-threatening complication in primary adrenal failure. Our objective was to investigate the frequency of adrenal crises in patients with autoimmune Addison’s disease (AD) in the Techniker Krankenkasse (TK), one of the largest German Health Insurance providers, that covers more than 10% of the German population.Design: The Statutory Health Insurance (SHI) database of the TK was analysed for diagnostic ...

Introduction: Myelolipomas account for 5–15% of all resected adrenal masses and are considered as benign lesions consisting of fat and myeloid tissue. Their pathogenesis is mostly unknown, though altered mesenchymal stem cell function or a sustained respond to increased ACTH stimulation are discussed. Even though these findings are partly inconclusive, an increased incidence of myelolipoma in patients with congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) has been reported, which may ...

Introduction: Several studies have shown a reduced quality of life (QoL) in patients with Addison’s disease (AD). However, by now there are no data investigating the changes of QoL over a long-term course. Adrenal crises (AC) are frequent and potentially life-threatening complications in patients with AD. Since no reliable laboratory indicator can predict impending crises it is difficult to detect patients at increased risk. The purpose of this study was to test whether t...

A 34-year-old refugee from Somalia was referred because of a suspected DSD. Due to ambiguous, but predominantly female external genitalia at birth he was raised as a girl, whereas his subjective gender identity has always been male. Puberty led to a significant virilization of the body but only to a very limited virilization of the external genitalia. The patient presented himself with an undoubtedly male-type body composition. External genitalia were now predominantly male wi...

There are no epidemiological data of Addison’s disease in Germany. Since there is no national registry for this rare disease alternative data sources need to be retrieved. The Technikerkrankenkasse (TK) is one of the large German health care insurance providers covering nearly 10% of the population. Documentation of diagnoses by all members with a doctor contact is evaluated by a scientific institute (WINEG). Screening of the database for Addison’s disease was design...

Introduction: Vitamin D (VD) deficiency affects many autoimmune disorders requiring steroid therapy. In contrast to glucocorticoid immune suppressive doses for autoimmune diseases, patients with Addison’s disease (AD) require physiological replacement. There is growing evidence of a cross-talk between glucocorticoids (GC) and VD. However, VD’s interaction with the GC pathway remains poorly understood.Methods: To explore this issue, CD14+</...

Background: Multiple diagnostic modalities may be needed to establish the source of excessive androgen production in women. The detection of testosterone-producing ovarian tumors by imaging techniques can be difficult because of their in same cases small size and radiological structure.Case report: We describe a 55-year-old postmenopausal woman presenting with progressive severe virilization (Ferriman Gallwey-Score: 23–26), increased hair growth, ma...