Endocrine Abstracts

Women with CAH have decreased fertility and sexual activity because of psychological aspects and genital status. The aim of this study was to evaluate sexual function and psychological attitudes in 18 women with CAH due to 21-HD (12 with non-classical, four with salt-wasting and two with simple virilizing CAH; 20–48 yrs) under standard treatment, and 18 age-matched healthy women. Sexual function was evaluated by a validated Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI) questionnair...

Introduction: The reactivation of autoimmune disorders has been described in patients with hypercortisolism after normalization of cortisol secretion. This phenomenon is probably related to the loss of immunosuppressive effect of endogenous glucocorticoids. This is a report of two patients with Takayasu arteritis (TA) and Cushing’s disease (CD), a novel association never described in literature, in whom TA was exacerbated after normalization of cortisol secretion.<p c...

Background: Hypogonadism is a clinical entity characterized by low serum testosterone (T) levels associated with several clinical signs and symptoms which can negatively affect the quality of life. T replacement therapy (TRT), restoring serum T concentrations, improves signs and symptoms related to hypogonadism. Many T formulations are presently available. The aim of the study was to assess effects of 2% gel TRT on serum T concentrations, erectile function, muscle strength and...

Hypercortisolism has been reported to affect cardiac structure and performance. Subclinical Cushing’s syndrome (SCS) is increasingly being reported in incidentally discovered adrenal tumors; its hallmark is a mild autonomous cortisol hypersecretion without specific clinical syndrome of glucocorticoid excess. The aim of this study was to compare cardiac structure and function in patients with adrenal incidentaloma. Thirty patients (10 men, 15 women, 32–74 years) and 3...

Cabergoline (CAB), a potent dopamine agonist, is one of the most effective neuromodulatory drug in the second line treatment of patients with Cushing’s disease (CD). The aim of the current study was to estimate the predictive value of the acute CAB administration on short and long term responsiveness to CAB treatment. Twenty CD patients (6 males, 14 females, 12–60 years) entered the study. The acute CAB test was performed evaluating serum cortisol every hour for 6 h ...

CAH has been described to be associated to infertility and semen abnormalities in 40–70% of adult male patients, because of hypogonodotropic hypogonadism, consequent to the increased levels of sex steroids, but mostly because of the frequent presence of testicular adrenal rest tumors. The aim of the current study was to evaluate semen parameters and hormonal setting in a subset of men with CAH. Fourteen patients with classical CAH due to 21-HD (six with simple virilizing,...

Background: The prostate cancer (CaP) is among the most commonly diagnosed cancers, accounting for about 20% of all newly diagnosed cancers. Subject of recent studies is the role of vitamin D in the pathogenesis of CaP. Literature data speculated about the role of vitamin D in the progression of Cap. In addition, several studies have shown an association between VDR gene polymorphism FokI and CaP especially in the Asian population.Objective: The aim of t...

Introduction: Acromegaly is a systemic disease frequently characterized by hypogonadotropic hypogonadism, endothelial dysfunction and diseases classically associated with an increased incidence of erectile dysfunction (ED) (hypertension, dyslipidemia, impaired glucose metabolism) and premature ejaculation (prostatic disease). Furthermore, the high prevalence of ED may negatively affect ejaculatory function. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the ejaculatory function of ...

Introduction: Acromegaly is frequently characterized by hypogonadotropic hypogonadism, endothelial dysfunction, hypertension and impaired glucose and lipid metabolism, classically associated with impaired sexual function (SF). There are no literature data on the SF in acromegaly. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the SF of patients with acromegaly.Patients and methods: Twenty-two patients (47.8±8.6 years) were enrolled into the study. Among ...

Cushing’s syndrome (CS) is a severe disease caused by an endogenous glucocorticoid excess and it is correlated to an increased morbidity and mortality especially for sepsis and cardiovascular diseases, while hypertension, glucose intolerance or diabetes mellitus, and dyslipidemia are the most common systemic complications. The aim of this retrospective study was to evaluate the mortality and morbidity of patients with CS admitted at the Department of Endocrinology and Onc...