Endocrine Abstracts

Early 2005 we reported on a new insertion-deletion mutation (insTTCTdelG) at codon 666 (exon 11) of the RET proto-oncogene. The index patient, a 12 year old boy with locally metastasized MTC, inherited the mutation from his maternal grandfather. His mother had a basal calcitonin of 30 ng/l and underwent a prophylactic total thyroidectomy at age 48, showing C-cell hyperplasia in both lobes and early MTC with a maximum size of 1.5 mm. At age 82, his grandfather did not have clin...

A 57 years-old patient presented with back pain, general discomfort, polydipsia, polyuria, fatigue and recent weight loss of 10 kg. Biochemical evaluation showed hypercalcemia (2.85 mmol/l; normal: 2.15–2.55) with low PTH level (14,2 ng/L; normal 14.9–56.9 ng/l) excluding primary hyperparathyroidism. The most frequent cause of hypercalcemia with non-elevated PTH levels is an underlying malignancy1. CT-thorax-abdomen showed a pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor...

Two nationwide surveys on acromegaly (AcroBel-1 and 2) have been performed in Belgium at an interval of five years, including centralized GH and IGF1 measurements in most patients. A normal IGF1 for age was observed in 56% of 311 vs 74% of 365 treated patients, in 2004 and 2009 respectively.Factors responsible for this improvement were investigated. A selection bias was unlikely as the follow-up rate was higher in patients with active (83%) or medically ...

To evaluate the epidemiology and global quality of care of acromegaly in Belgium, all endocrinologists treating patients with acromegaly were invited to participate in a nationwide survey extending from 15-6-2003 till 30-9-2004, aiming to include all patients (including deaths) that were in follow up or newly diagnosed after 1-1-2000. The project was ethically approved and written informed consent obtained. Retrospective data on demographics, pathology, complications and treat...