Endocrine Abstracts

Background & aims: Impaired glucose tolerance and diabetes as well as cardiac dysfunction are known complications in homozygous beta-thalassemic transfused patients due to iron overload. We aimed to study pancreatic alpha and beta-cell function in regularly transfused patients with homozygous beta-thalassemia and to investigate if cardiac dysfunction may correlate with the development of impaired glucose metabolism.Methods: An oral glucose tolerance ...

Thyroid antibodies are a heterogenous group of antibodies with diverse and partly unknown properties. The effect of these antibodies on other organ systems and especially on the renal system is unknown. There is however some evidence that thyroid, in particular thyroglobulin antibodies, may affect renal function and may cause glomerulonephritis and possibly nephrotic syndrome. Nephrotic syndrome may alter thyroxine metabolism, as it affects its renal excretion and its albumin ...

Primary adrenal failure may be of autoimmune or infectious aetiology, tuberculosis being a well known cause. In tuberculosis vitamin D deficiency has been described, while vitamin D sufficiency has been reported to be necessary for the mounting of an efficient immune response to the mycobacterium.The aim was to describe the case of a patient with primary adrenal failure of tuberculous aetiology and severe vitamin D deficiency.A fem...