Endocrine Abstracts

Several alterations of the metabolic processes develop during sepsis. Adiponectin and resistin are amongst the main adipokines that may contribute to the metabolic adaptations observed in the context of critical illness. However, there is scarce data on the circulating pattern of these adipokines in human sepsis. Therefore we aimed to describe the variation in circulating levels of resistin and adiponectin during the course of sepsis and examine whether they are related to the...

Purpose: HPA axis activation resulting in increased cortisol production by the adrenals is a crucial part of the response to critical illness. The action of cortisol may also be modulated at the tissue level, through changes in the availability of the free fraction and modifications of the glucocorticoid receptor activity. It has been proposed that tissue resistance to glucocorticoids may occur, at least in some patients, and relate to insufficient anti-inflammatory activity a...

Introduction: The hypothalamo-pituitary adrenal axis has been extensively investigated in sepsis. Most studies concentrated in the acute phase and in most the high-dose ACTH stimulation test has been applied. Studies extending in the post-acute phase by using the more physiological low-dose ACTH stimulation are scarce.We aimed to investigate the time course of cortisol levels before and after stimulation with 1μg Synacthen in mechanically ventilated...