Endocrine Abstracts

Introduction: Neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) are a heterogeneous group of rare neoplasms that originate from endocrine cells with the ability to secrete amines and hormonal polypeptides. Pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (PNETs) can be functional or non-functional. Functional PNETs secrete common hormones such as gastrin, insulin and glucagon and much less frequent hormones such as vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP). Their clinical characteristics depend on the peptide secreted....

Introduction: Medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC) accounts for 1-5% of all thyroid cancers. It is a neuroendocrine tumor arising from the calcitonin-secreting parafollicular cells of the thyroid. In rare cases, the neoplastic cells additionally secrete other substances, such as histamine, serotonin, ACTH, CRF etc, leading to paraneoplastic syndromes.Case report: An 80 year old male presented to our Department with an already diagnosed metastatic MTC. Three...

Introduction: Bone densitometry is currently one of the mainstays in the evaluation of systemic bone diseases. The most frequently assessed densitometric parameter is areal bone mineral density (BMD), measured by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) and expressed as g/cm2. However BMD is a bone size-dependent measure and may be found inappropriately low in children and adults with short stature. Osteopenia/osteoporosis have been described in patients with short s...

Rare cases of Cushing’s syndrome have been diagnosed only based upon bone manifestations. Fracture risk is related to individual susceptibility to glucocorticoids that is genetically determined by several factors, including VDR gene polymorphism.We report three patients with VDR FokI gene polymorphism and multiple non-traumatic pathologic fractures as the presenting manifestation of Cushing’s syndrome.The second case is a...

Introduction: Solid cell nests (SCNs) of the thyroid are considered embryological remnants of the ultimobranchial bodies and the thyroid diverticulum. They are frequently (61–89%) detected in the thyroid gland, but their biological significance remains disputable. According to the fetal cell thyroid carcinogenesis hypothesis SCNs may act as a source for specific thyroid cancer stem cells generating distinct thyroid cancer phenotypes. We report a case of a patient with con...