Endocrine Abstracts

Background: Endogenous Cushing’s syndrome (CS) comprises the symptoms and signs associated with prolonged exposition to inappropriately high levels of glucocorticoids produced by adrenal cortex. Epidemiological studies reported an incidence of 0.7–2.4 cases per 1 million inhabitants per year. Late-night salivary cortisol (LNSC) is one of three currently recommended initial screening tests for CS. The advantages of LNSC are nonivasive specimen collection and minimal i...

Background: The presence of functional ACTH receptors (MC2R) on osteoblasts and fact, that their activation lead to the proliferation of osteoblasts is consistent with the presence of receptors for another anterior pituitary hormones (FSH and TSH) on bone cells. Does ACTH directly regulate bone? Is it possible, that this is another hormone of a novel regulatory axis, pituitary-bone axis, in which hormones bypass traditional endocrine targets to regulate bone mass directly? Sup...

Backrgound: Coexistent gastrointestinal pathology might alter hydrocortisone (HCT) and levothyroxine (LT4) absorption and gut transit times.Aims: To screen patients with autoimmune Addison disease for the presence of serological markers of autoimmune gastrointestinal disorders, to compare doses of HCT and LT4 in patients with positive autoantibodies to those of patients without signs of autoimmune gastroenteropathy.Subjects and met...

Background: Although the excision of ACTH-producing tumors is the principal treatment for Cushing’s disease (CD), pharmacologic treatment has a well-established role. As corticotroph adenomas express somatostatin (SST) receptors (SSTRs), pasireotide – a pluripotent somatostatin analogue, acting on four of five SSTRs has a potential role in treatment of CD among various medical agents.Case report: We report a 39-year-old female with recurrence o...

Introduction: Parathyroid hormone (PTH) secretion is regulated by the concentration of extracellular ionized calcium. The calcium sensing receptors (CaSR) of parathyroid chief cells play a central role in calcium homeostasis. Their activity is reduced by calcimimetics, the compounds that directly increase the sensitivity of CaSR to extracellular ionized calcium. Cinacalcet hydrochloride, an oral calcimimetic, is indicated in treatment of primary hyperparathyroidism (PHP), for ...

Background: The MHC is the most important susceptibility locus for human autoimmune diseases (AID). Although associations between MHC class II DRB1 alleles and Addison disease (AD) have been repeteadly proven in various populations, the biological mechanisms underlying this association remains unknown. Peptide presentation to T cells may be important in the initiation or progression of AID. Disease-linked polymorphisms map to the peptide-binding sites of MHC molecules class II...

Background: Post-adrenalectomy persistent hyperkalemia, that lasts >3 months and needs to be treated, is a potentially serious, but not apprehensively investigated complication after surgical treatment in patients with aldosterone-producing adenomas (APA).Case report: A 53-year-old male presented type 2 diabetes mellitus and a 10-year history of resistant hypertension requiring multidrug treatment with antihypertensives of eight different classes. Pr...

Background: In pheochromocytomas, the measurement of fractionated metanephrines is the first-line test for diagnosis and the false-positive results remain a problem. Among various parameters and tests used, only the suppression of normetanephrine provides reliable evidence that a pheochromocytoma is not present.Objective: Aim of the study was to analyse the role of clonidine suppression test in laboratory diagnosis of pheochromocytoma.<p class="abste...

To date only seven cases of naturally occuring inactivating mutations of the aromatase gene in men have been documented. Osteoporosis is one of the typical signs of the aromatase deficiency in male patients. We report results of estrogen therapy in patient with formerly described frameshift mutation of the CYP19 gene, ins 1058 T. Bone mineral density (BMD) was assessed during three phases of estrogen therapy. Patient was substituted by calcium and vitamin D throughout t...

Parathyroid carcinoma (PTCa) is an uncommon cause of primary hyperparathyroidism (PHP), statistically representing <1–2% of all cases of PHP. Early resection of the primary tumor is the only curative treatment, however this is frequently incomplete. As a consequence, recurrence of PTCa presenting as locally invasive tumor and/or metastatic process is not rare. Morbidity and mortality are generally caused by the effects of unremitting hypercalcemia rather than tumor gr...