Endocrine Abstracts

Introduction: Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a very common complication of cirrhosis (prevalence: 20–60%), primary due to increased hepatic insulin-resistance (IR). After liver transplantation (LT), DM recovers in 67% of cases, while 33% of patients remain diabetic because of a concomitant decreased beta cell function. The roles played by pre-transplant factors determining changes in glucose tolerance after LT are imperfectly known.Aim of the study: To h...

Introduction: Hemolytic-uremic syndrome (HUS) is a clinical condition characterized by nonimmune hemolytic anemia, thrombocytopenia and progressive kidney failure mediated by E.Coli Shiga-like toxin. In rare cases the inflammatory process may lead to beta-cell necrosis and, hence, overt diabetes mellitus. Post-HUS DM is characterized by severe insulin depletion and very high insulin sensitivity, making its therapeutic management particularly challenging....

Introduction: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the first cause of death in patients with cirrhosis, with an incidence of 3–5% per year and a survival of 0–10% 5 years after the diagnosis. Major risk factors for HCC are HCV, HBV infection and alcohol, while a specific cause is not identifiable in 5–30% of cases. Several studies have shown a strong association between metabolic syndrome (MS), characterized by insulin-resistance (IR) and central obesity, and HCC; ...