Endocrine Abstracts

Whereas G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) have been long believed to signal through cyclic AMP exclusively at cell surface, our group has previously shown that GPCRs not only signal at the cell surface but can also continue doing so once internalized together with their ligands, leading to persistent cAMP production. This phenomenon, which we originally described for the thyroid stimulating hormone receptor (TSHR) in thyroid cells, has been observed also for other GPCRs. How...

Background: Diagnosis of small pancreatic neuroendocrine incidentalomas (PNETs-I) is increasing during last years and often their management remains unclear.Objective: To describe our experience with patients with PNETs-I in our institution.Methods: Since March 2000, patients with non functioning PNETs-I ≤30 mm were evaluated in our center, prospectively. A descriptive analysis of all patients and a comparative study between ...

Background: Replacing physiological cortisol levels is important for the long-term health of patients with adrenal insufficiency and congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH). Modified-release formulations of hydrocortisone are one strategy being used to replace the cortisol circadian rhythm in adult patients but there is no data in children. Physiologically based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) modelling is a valuable tool for paediatric drug development1; however, there are no ...

Introduction: Sterotactic radiosurgery (SR) has been used to treat recurrent adenomas and also as a primary treatment. The objective is to evaluate long-term tumor control, development of hypopituitarism and other side effects in the follow-up.Patients and method: Retrospective analysis of 21 patients with non-functioning pituitary adenomas (NFA) treated with modified linear accelerator (LINAC) between 1998 and 2009 in three tertiary Spanish hospitals. C...

Introduction: Sterotactic radiosurgery (SR) has been used to treat recurrent adenomas after failure of medical and surgical procedures and also as a primary treatment. The aim of this paper is to evaluate long-term control of functioning pituitary adenomas (FPA).Patients and method: Thirty-eight patients with FPA treated with modified linear accelerator (LINAC) between 1998 and 2009 in three tertiary Spanish hospitals. Hormonal control was defined as hor...

Abnormal fetal growth remains a problem in pregnancies, complicated by diabetes and is associated with increased maternal and offspring mortality and morbidity. Insulin-like growth factors (IGFs) are important regulators of fetal growth. Their effects are controlled by binding proteins (IGFBPs). IGFBP-1 is particularly important in pregnancy. Phosphorylated IGFBP-1 (pIGFBP-1) has a high affinity for IGF-I and inhibits IGF-I actions, whereas de-phosphhorylated IGFBP-1 has a low...

Introduction: Testosterone (T) improves muscle strength in hypogondal men. It is unclear if testosterone has similar effects in prefrail and frail elderly men with low T. We conducted a randomised double-blind placebo-controlled parallel group study to determine the effects of T on muscle mass and strength, physical function and quality of life in prefrail and frail elderly men.Methods: Two hundred and sixty two prefrail and frail elderly men (Fried e...

Introduction: Frailty, a common cause of disability and dependency in the elderly is a multifactorial condition; ageing-associated endocrine dyregulations may play an important role. It is not known if testosterone (T) deficiency contributes to frailty, through its effects on muscle (sarcopenia) and physical function.Objective: To investigate the relationship between T and frailty in elderly men in a cross-sectional observational study in community-dwell...

Background: Testosterone (T) levels decline gradually with increasing age in men. However, age-related decline in several functional domains (e.g. frailty, cognitive deficits, osteoporosis) accelerates in the eighth decade. It is not known if the loss of function in the oldest old is related to a more precipitous fall in T.Objective: To determine if total testosterone (TT) declines more rapidly in men in the eighth compared to those in the sixth and seve...

Risk of cardiovascular disease is higher for patients with diabetes and dyslipidemia. Known risk factors include elevated triglycerides (TG), total cholesterol (TC), LDL, and low HDL. The log(TG: HDL), known as Atherogenic Index of Plasma (AIP), is inversely correlated with LDL particle size (r=-0.78) and provides another marker of coronary heart disease (CHD) risk. Low-risk CHD cohorts have negative AIP values; high-risk cohorts have positive values. Patients with type 2 diab...