Endocrine Abstracts

Background: Data on the prevalence of primary aldosteronism (PA) in subjects with resistant hypertension (inadequate pressure control with three full-dose drugs, including a diuretic) are scanty and it is not known if PA is associated with a more severe vascular damage.Aim: To determine the prevalence of PA in patients with resistant hypertension and define the possible association with early cardiovascular damage.Methods: Seventy ...

Both hyper- and hypothyroidism show reduced spontaneous and GHRH-stimulated GH secretion. Although impaired GHRH secretion and activity as well as reduced GH pituitary synthesis have been reported in these pathological conditions, a definitive description of the underlying pathophysiological mechanisms have not been provided yet. Ghrelin elicits a potent GH-releasing effect partially mediated by a functional somatostatin antagonism and a synergic interaction with GHRH. Moreove...

Background: Idiopathic primary hyperaldosteronism (IHA) is the subtype of primary aldosteronism (PA) in which lateralization of the mineralocorticoid hypersecretion cannot be demonstrated. Scanty data are available on the clinical history of IHA: a couple of brief reports suggest a remission of aldosterone hypersecretion after years of treatment with mineralocorticoid receptor blocking agents.Aim of this study was to check the persistence/remission of al...

Introduction: Acromegaly is a rare disease caused by chronic exposure to excessive levels of GH, usually related to the presence of a pituitary adenoma, and associated to somatic and visceral hypertrophy, metabolic alterations, respiratory and cardiovascular complications, and increased risk of neoplasias.Materials and methods: The prevalence of manifestations, complications and associated illness was evaluated in 137 acromegalic subjects (52 M, 85 F; ag...

ITT is the test of reference for the diagnosis of adult GH deficiency (GHD), but also GHRH in combination with arginine (ARG) or GH secretagogues (GHS) are considered equally reliable tests. Testing with GHS alone is, anyway, a potent stimulus exploring the integrity of hypothalamic pathways controlling somatotropic function.We therefore aimed to clarify the diagnostic reliability of testing with ghrelin, the natural GHS.We studied...

Introduction: The onset and progression of liver damage in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is tightly associated with metabolic derangements. Steroids may affect lipid metabolism but their alterations in the setting of NAFLD remain to be fully explored.Patients and Methods: We analyzed data from 267 patients with biopsy-proven NAFLD and 112 controls (CT). A panel of 26 steroids (including glucocorticoids, mineralocorticoids, androgens, and prog...