Endocrine Abstracts

The ongoing obesity epidemic is one of the main concerns worldwide and for this reason preventive strategies to reduce the future global health and the economic costs of this disease are urgently needed. Diets for weight loss and physical activity represent the cornerstone of treatment for patients who are overweight and/or obese, in particular to improve the frequent comorbid conditions associated with obesity. Now and in the past multiple medications have been approved for c...

The polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), affecting 4–7% of women worldwide, is one of the most common causes of infertility. Hyperandrogenism and chronic oligo-anovulation are the prominent clinical features. However, PCOS is no longer considered as a constellation of disorders only related to the reproductive sphere, but represents an aggregation of metabolic disorders having an early onset and with advancing age predominating over reproductive disorders. Obesity, particula...

Introduction: Hypoparathyroidism Bone Score (TBS) has been associated with fragility fractures in post-menopausal women. Estrogen-receptor positive breast cancer is usually treated with aromatase inhibitors (AIs), with international guidelines recommending initial bone density (BMD) evaluation, since this therapy is associated with high rates of fragility fractures. Each Country has different thresholds of intervention to recommend pharmacologic treatment for fracture preventi...

Context: Normocalcemic hyperparathyroidism (NHPT) is considered as an earlier or milder phenotype compared to traditional primary hyperparathyroidism (PHPT). To make a correct diagnosis, secondary hyperparathyroidism due to low calcium intake must be excluded. Whether calcium intake might affect presentation of PHPT vs NHPT has never been addressed consistently.Objective: To describe patients with a diagnosis of NHPT or PHPT in relation to their calcium ...

Context: Patients with primary hyperparathyroidism (PHPT) may be treated with denosumab due to coexisting osteoporosis. Few studies have been conducted in this population.Case presentation: An 84-year-old woman was seen in the outpatient clinic in March 2018 due to calcium levels at the upper limit of reference range (10,2 mg/dl) associated with elevated levels of PTH (112 pg/ml) and sufficient 25(OH)Vit D (24 ng/ml) levels, findings consistent with mild...

Recent data showed the existence of a specific adipocyte population composed of ‘brite’ cells in white adipose tissue (WAT), characterized by a peculiar gene expression pattern including PRDM16. Despite showing a low basal UCP1 expression, these cells display higher UCP1 expression when stimulated. In view of the involvement of the endocannabinoid system in energy homeostasis, the aim of our work is to establish whether the CB1 receptor could be a target for brown ph...

We report of two sisters with hyperandrogenism, menstrual abnormalities, and severe insulin resistance. The elder sister was seen after puberty at age 21 and she was referred for the evaluation of hirsutism and polymenorrhoea; the younger was seen earlier in life, at age 15, for the evaluation of secondary amenorrhoea. In both of them, we performed the diagnosis of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) in accordance to the Rotterdam criteria. They also presented a lipodystrophic ph...

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a common endocrine disorder among premenopausal women affecting up to 20% of the population. Even though androgen excess is the main diagnostic criterion for PCOS, the evaluation of hyperandrogenemia relies on methods with low accuracy and mainly able to measure total androgen amounts. Liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS) allows high accuracy steroids measurement and if applied to saliva, it also allows the measurem...

Clinical vignetteA 65-year-old woman was hospitalized due to severe hypercalcemia (albumin-corrected calcium 16.9 mg/dl) associated with severe renal failure (creatinine 3.48 mg/ml), normal phosphate levels (3.9 mg/dl) and PTH < 5 pg/ml. Her past medical history included total thyroidectomy complicated by chronic hypoparathyroidism, for which she was followed by her primary care physician. One year before hospital admission, renal function was normal...

Background: Many questions concerning Turner Syndrome (TS) remain unresolved, such as the long-term complications and, therefore, the optimal care setting for adults. Most controversials regard tumors. Very few data are available on thyroid carcinoma and no specific screening protocol of monitoring is advised in the current official guidelines. This long-term cohort study was primarily aimed at estimating the incidence and time to comorbid conditions along the life course, inc...