Endocrine Abstracts

The low-triiodothyronine (T3) syndrome, also referred as non thyroidal illness, is a frequent finding usually associated to a wide constellation of both acute and chronic extra-thyroid critical disorders that largely differ each other in terms of aetiology, organ involvement, evolution, and clinical impact. Independently of its origin, severity and time-course, the low-T3 syndrome has been always considered an adaptive and positive process not needing spe...

Introduction: Differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC) has an excellent prognosis. However, DTC frequently metastasizes to cervical lymph nodes (CLN). In case of suspicious ultrasonography findings, the fine-needle aspiration (FNA) is usually required to confirm or exclude metastasis. The combination of FNA-cytology and thyroglobulin (Tg) measurements in the needle washout has been reported to increase the sensitivity of FNA in identifying lymph node metastases from DTC, particular...

Background: The appropriate risk stratification of patients with differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC) is crucial because most cases have an indolent behavior and need a conservative approach. One of the most widely used tools is included in the American Thyroid Association (ATA) Guidelines, based on heterogeneous literature data derived by different populations, settings, and timeframes. Recent research focused on the inclusion of other features or questioned the clinical relev...

Context: The desmopressin (DDAVP) test has been proposed to discriminate Cushing’s disease (CD) from Pseudo-Cushing states (PC); however, current information on its value is scarce and contradictory.Objective: To assess the ability of the DDAVP test in distinguishing between these conditions, with emphasis on subjects with mild hypercortisolism.Design: Retrospective/prospective study.Setting: Division of...

Objective: The corticotropin releasing hormone (CRH) test does not reliably distinguish between Cushing’s disease (CD) and normality or pseudo-Cushing state (PC). In this study we assessed whether the application of novel criteria could enhance its diagnostic performance.Design: Retrospective study.Patients: Fifty-one subjects with CD, 26 with PC and 31 control subjects (CT).Measurements: All subjects un...

Insulin resistance and obesity are a global health problem and directly linked to macrophage-driven inflammation of the adipose tissue. Glucocorticoid therapy, used to treat inflammatory conditions, increases adiposity and insulin resistance. It is unknown however, whether anti-inflammatory actions of glucocorticoids at physiological levels can have beneficial effects on adipose tissue inflammation, potentially limiting insulin resistance. Using a macrophage specific deletion ...

ObjectiveWe report a case of acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARSCoV2) pneumonia in which persistently high procalcitonin (PCT) allowed the diagnosis of sporadic medullary thyroid cancer (MTC).MethodsWe describe the history of 43-year-old male with bilateral Sars-Cov-2 pneumoniae, in whom persistent increased PCT despite reduction of C reactive protein lead to investigate other causes of high PCT. S...

The most frequent mutation in papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) is the p.V600E of the BRAF gene. This mutation leads to the aberrant activation of the RAS / BRAF / MEK / ERK pathway and consequently to the under-regulation of thyroid-specific genes, resulting in uncontrolled growth and de-differentiation of cancer cells. In this work, we analyzed the transcriptomics data produced by the TCGA project using a network approach. The analysis led to the identification of r...

Background: In the last decades, the clinical profile of PHPT in Western Countries has changed from a highly symptomatic to a largely asymptomatic disease. However, a substantial stability in its clinical features has been reported in the last two decades. The usual management, including time to diagnosis and treatment, of PHPT during the Covid-19 pandemic has been changed and likely slowed down. Whether further changes in the clinical presentation of PHPT have occurred during...

Background: Sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 (SGLT2) inhibitors demonstrated beneficial effects on cardiovascular and renal events in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. The mechanisms underlying these effects are not fully elucidated. Aim of this study was to investigate whether empagliflozin is able to affect arterial stiffness/pulse wave velocity in type 2 diabetic patients.Methods: Pulse wave velocity and other parameters of arterial stiffness were...