Endocrine Abstracts

Context: Serum calcitonin (hCT) measurement may be useful for detecting medullary carcinoma (MTC), but the routine use of hCT and after pentagastrin stimulation to screen patients with nodular thyroid disease remains controversial.Patients: One thousand and seven patients (667 females, 440 males) with nodular thyroid disease and a mean age of 55±14 (mean±S.D.) years were included in the study. All patients did not have impaired r...

Introduction: Measurements of plasma metanephrines (META) and normetanephrines (NOR) have been advocated as first-line tests for the diagnosis of pheochromocytoma. This study assessed the impact of several potential confounders, which may influence the correct diagnosis.Methods: Eight healthy males (age 26.8±1.7; BMI 23.1±0.8) were tested on 6 separate days. Tests were performed in supine rest with blood sampling via i.v. canullas at 0900 h fol...

Objective: Therapeutic options for patients with dedifferentiated thyroid carcinoma are rare and alternative treatment strategies are needed. Among the most promising new agents for these patients are protein kinase inhibitors like the BRAF- and multi-targeted kinase inhibitor sorafenib. We have already shown that sorafenib inhibits growth of dedifferentiated thyroid carcinoma cell lines with and without BRAF mutation. The purpose of this study was to analyze the molecular eff...

Introduction: Optimizing glucocorticoid (GC) therapy in patients with congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) remains a challenge. While overdosing may result in Cushing’s syndrome, underdosing is associated with female virilization and adrenal insufficiency. This study evaluated day-profiling of salivary 17-hydroxyprogesterone (17OHP) for the biochemical control of adolescents with CAH due to 21-hydroxylase deficiency.Methods: Twelve patients (4 males...

Introduction: Pasireotide (SOM230) is a novel multi-ligand somatostatin analogue with high binding affinity for four of the five somatostatin receptor subtypes (sst1,2,3 and sst5). A randomized study of 59 patients showed that pasireotide effectively controls GH and IGF-I levels in patients with acromegaly and reduces pituitary tumor size. The impact of pasireotide on GH levels during glucose suppression and glucose metabolism in 12 patients enrolled in t...

Introduction: Measurement of urinary cortisol is often used to assess disease activity in patients with suspected or proven hypercortisolism. However, specific reference ranges are lacking for some of the newer assays. This study analyzed upper limits of normal (ULN, mean+2S.D.) for two analytical procedures (GC–MS, ECLIA) in relation to various independent variables. Besides, the influence of different storage conditions was investigated (by ECLIA).<p ...

Introduction: Treatment of poorly differentiated neuroendocrine tumors (NET) usually includes chemotherapeutic intervention. However, both the rarity and the heterogeneity of the disease have led to relatively few clinical trials. This study evaluated the outcome of two chemotherapy regimens in patients suffering from undifferentiated and histologically confirmed NET.Methods: Eighteen patients (11 males; age 56.7±2.5) with proven progressive disease...

Context: It is well established that clinical features of acromegaly concern the teeth and the jaw, but less is known about the degree of oral and maxillofacial pathologies and its impact of the disease duration.Patients: Twenty-eight acromegalics (13 females, 15 males) with a mean age 49±11 (mean±S.D.) years (range 31–70) were included in the study. Thirty-two percent had active disease, 39% were well-controlled under the s...

Background: Tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) is the first enzyme in the pathway of catecholamine synthesis catalyzing the conversion of tyrosine to dihydroxyphenylalanine (DOPA). To establish a molecular marker for adrenal pheochromocytomas, we compared the expression in various adrenal tumors in comparison to normal adrenal glands.Methods: Tissue from 19 pheochromocytomas (PHEO), 20 aldosterone-producing adenomas (APA), 20 cortisol-producing adenomas (CPA), an...

Objective: The ITT is the gold-standard for assessment of GH and ACTH reserve but has certain contraindications. GH and cortisol responses of <3 ng/ml and <500 nmol/l, respectively, have been defined as evidence of severe deficiency. The GST like the ITT stimulates both the ACTH and GH secretion and is suggested to be a good alternative in terms of efficiacy. However, there are limited prospective data with modern assays on sensitivity and specificity for the GST in co...